


Broken Snowbird

by Inkedroplets



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Feels, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, Feelings Realization, Hurt/Comfort, I am Supercorp Trash, Jealousy, Love Confessions, Love Triangles, Mistaken Identity, Slow Burn, SuperCorp
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:14:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 64,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24821413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkedroplets/pseuds/Inkedroplets
Summary: After Red Daughter realizes just how many similarities that her and Kara Danvers share, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to Lena Luthor. How long can she continue to deceive Lena and what will Kara think when she realizes that Red Daughter has been masquerading as her, making her confront her own confusing feelings about Lena?
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Red Daughter | Linda Lee/Lena Luthor
Comments: 126
Kudos: 407





	1. Know thy enemy, know thyself

_Kara Danvers has an Alex too?_

The coincidence was just that, a coincidence... But all the same... It was not something so easily brushed aside. Alex was on his way back to prison and she was to return to Kaznia. The brush with Alex, Kara Danvers’ Alex was too close. She had gotten lucky, but if she lingered any longer it would not be as easy to come up with a satisfactory reason for her being here.  
  
Red Daughter had returned Kara’s journal to its place on the table and lingered at the window, taking one last look around the apartment. The trip to Kaznia would be a short one. She could be back in a matter of minutes if she wanted. Alex had told her to go… And she would, but it felt as if she had just arrived. Surely, staying just a bit longer wouldn’t make a difference, but all the same, she felt an uncomfortable wriggling of guilt in her stomach. She waffled, taking one last glimpse out the window before closing it and walking back to the table, making a grab for Kara's journal.

 _It's research_ , she told herself as she settled down onto the sofa, taking another look around the apartment before opening it. _Know thy enemy, know thyself._

She had only meant to read a page or two before departing for Kaznia. And she might have if what she read wasn't so confusing. The picture that Alex painted of Kara Danvers was so different.. It seemed that with each page the image of Kara Danvers she had conjured in her mind’s eye became more and more distorted. She still thought of America as unsavory, but she found it harder and harder to think the same about Kara. She had friends, compassion for others. She wanted to do good. Could it all be an act?

Turning another page, a newspaper clipping came fluttering out that she caught between her thumb and index finger. On one side was a short article and on the other was a picture of a woman that held Red Daughter’s attention for a moment. Setting it aside she hunched over slightly, giving the blanket around her shoulders a small tug, wrapping it more snugly around her. This too had been something that she had done in the name of research, wondering if Kara did the same thing when she wrote in her journal.

The entry was a shorter one than all the others but still written in that neat tidy script that Red Daughter already felt intimately familiar with.

_Lena doesn't know how much potential she has, I hope now at least that the world does_

Picking up the newspaper clipping, her eyes scanned the picture again. Beneath the photo was a small blurb that made her eyes widen.

"Lena Luthor?"

She had read several passages about Lena, but she had no idea that she was Alex's sister. She and Kara were friends... Best friends. In fact, her name had come up in nearly every entry in some way or another.

She stood up from the couch so quickly that the blanket fell from around her shoulders and landed in a heap in the spot she had just vacated. She almost immediately began to pace, more confused than ever, still clutching the diary tightly in her right hand and the clipping in the other. 

The panic that began to set in only reminded her just how long she had been here. Nearly an hour. Returning the journal to its original place on the table with all the carefulness of a cat burglar, she went to slip the clipping back as well and paused. Lena Luthor… Why hadn’t Alex told her that they were friends? Had he meant to keep it from her? Or was he trying to protect her?  
  
She didn’t intend to lie to him. She would come clean about her subterfuge, but if he was going to be angry, she reasoned, wouldn’t she soften the blow if she showed that the run-in with Kara’s Alex wasn’t merely a fluke? That she could pass as Kara Danvers even in the company of her best friend?  
  
It was a sound argument and one that Red Daughter might have even convinced herself of if not for the simple fact that she wanted to meet Lena. Just meet her. After that, she would return to Kaznia like she should have done an hour ago. But could she meet her like this? However similar the two of them looked, it would have been foolish for her to not try and look the part.

* * *

Catching a glimpse of herself in the glass as she walked into L-Corp, Red Daughter still saw herself staring back. She had borrowed a cardigan from Kara's wardrobe along with a pair of glasses that still felt strange for her to wear. She was certain that the disguise was good enough to fool most everyone. The real test would be if it would also fool Lena.

Finding Lena proved to be far easier than she could have ever hoped. Upon entering the lobby she almost immediately laid eyes on her deep in conversation with a woman who had not much to add beyond the occasional ‘yes’ or nod of her head. Giving one final nod, the woman broke off, heading off in one direction while Lena made her way towards the elevators.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Red Daughter quickly closed the distance, entering the elevator only a moment after Lena had.  
  
“Kara? What are you doing here? I thought you were on vacation.”  
  
Red Daughter had gone over this very scenario in her head at least a dozen different ways on the way over to L-Corp. She had prepared for this and still she found herself tongue-tied. “I.. Uhhh.” She tried to smile, looking rather uncomfortable. “I had to help Alex with something.” 

The doors had just begun to close, when a hand darted between them, keeping them from closing completely. Looking equal parts relieved and annoyed, Eve stepped onto the elevator.  
  
“Miss Luthor! Sorry,” she said, turning towards Red Daughter for a brief moment before focusing her attention back on Lena. “You’re needed in Lab C and it can’t wait.”  
  
Lena fixed Eve with a look that screamed ‘of course it can’t’ before turning to Kara. “I’m sorry, but when you get back, maybe a girl’s night?”  
  
“Big Belly Burger. Like your birthday last year.”

“Sold,” she said, beaming. The warm smile faded the moment that she turned back to Eve, giving her a curt nod before exiting the elevator.  
  
Eve watched Lena depart, her bright expression darkening considerably as her figure retreated down a hallway.  
  
“Hello, ‘Kara’.” Her eyes narrowed and she shook her index finger at her. “Or should I say _privet_ ? There is no way that Alex would send you to L-Corp. What are you doing here?”  
  
“I vanted to do more research,” she said plainly, her voice changing instantly from Kara’s to her own. “I vanted to see if I could pass as Kara Danvers convincingly enough to deceive her best friend.” It was the truth in a manner of speaking. "She suspected nothing."

It was hard for her to get a reading on Eve. She _would_ tell Alex that she hadn't returned to Kaznia as she was supposed to but what mattered most was the why. If Alex thought that she had stayed behind to be proactive he would be upset but he would understand. He may not be exceedingly warm but she knew just how pragmatic he could be. How could she not when they played chess together so often?  
  
Eve was silent for a bit longer before hitting the door open button on the elevator. “And thank God that she didn't," Eve snapped. "You succeeded. You fooled Lena," she said, her tone making it quite clear that Eve didn't consider this much of an accomplishment. " You need to go back to Kaznia, now. Carefully,” she added, clearly doubting Red Daughter's ability to do so without a reminder.  
  
“Of course."  
  
Eve looked as if she wanted to roll her eyes, thought better of it and shooed her out of the elevator, hitting another button, muttering darkly as the doors shut. 

Red Daughter watched the small display above the elevator tick upward. Eve had gone all the way to the thirtieth floor.. _Good,_ she thought. She didn’t like Eve. She couldn’t explain why. She had shouted at her but that wasn’t why. She had deserved to be shouted at. She had also interrupted her conversation with Lena...

Looking around and seeing only a janitor who appeared to be far more interested in a stubborn stain on the floor than her, she tilted her glasses down her nose slightly. Using her X-ray vision, scanning each room, she caught sight of Lena exiting the lab that Eve had sent her to. She looked to the doors leading out of L-Corp and back to Lena's retreating figure. _We barely got a chance to speak,_ Red Daughter reasoned. _If I want to be truly sure that I can pass for Kara Danvers..._ She took one last look around to make sure that the coast was clear before speeding off down a series of hallways, keeping just enough distance between her and Lena.

Fiddling with her glasses, Red Daughter was unaware just how much she really did look like Kara in the moment. She intentionally made her footsteps heavier as she approached. "Lena!"  
  
"Kara?!" Lena did a double take, checking that she was where she thought she was. It wouldn’t have been the first time she had been lost in thought and wandered somewhere else entirely. "What are you still doing here?"

"My flight was delayed." She gave Lena a halfhearted shrug, as if to say, ‘what can you do.’

“I'm so sorry to hear that! I could make some calls, probably get you on a later flight if you like. A bump from economy.."

"No! I mean.. You don't need to do that, I can catch a flight tomorrow. I actually came to find you to see if you still wanted to have a girl's night?"

"Tonight?" Lena looked at her watch and back towards the direction she had just come from. "A minute ago I would have had to say no but it looks like I'm not as busy as I thought.. Eve must have- She waved her hand out in front of her to stop herself from venting. "Anyway, yes, I'm free and am in desperate need of a girl's night. Your place?"

"No, I was thinking, your place?" _You don't even know where that is,_ a voice in her head so helpfully reminded her. 

"Sure. Still have your heart set on Big Belly Burger?”

Feeling her heart thumping away in her chest, Red Daughter mustered a smile, nodding her approval. "That sounds great. I'll buy."

"Fair enough. I still have to finish up here but I'll be done by seven. If you beat me there just let yourself in." Turning her head to get her bearings she didn't even need to look at her watch to know that she was late for something. "I really have to run but I'll see you tonight, Kara!" Turning on her heel, Lena started down the corridor surprisingly fast, turning back for a moment right before she turned down another hall to wave, flashing her a small smile before disappearing completely.

Red Daughter raised her hand to wave back, continuing to do so long after Lena had gone. 

_What are you doing?_ she wondered, reaching up once again to fiddle with her glasses, her fingertips brushing over her cheek, completely unaware that her cheeks had gone ever so slightly pink.


	2. Girls' Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With an incomplete picture of Kara Danvers, Red Daughter thinks that Lena might be the one person that will be able to answer some of her lingering questions. If she doesn't get distracted first...

It wasn’t until Red Daughter had walked nearly three blocks before she realized just what she had done by not returning to Kaznia when Eve had told her to and another four before the beginnings of a plan began to form. She _would_ return to Kaznia. If she did not, Alex might worry if he caught wind that she had not returned. And after she had made an appearance she would slip out for just a few more hours... She had questions about Kara Danvers that maybe Lena could answer. And what better way to pump her for information than under the guise of a girls’ night?

* * *

If not for Kara, Lena would have likely spent her evening hunkered down over her desk at L-Corp. There was always some project that could use her attention and before meeting Kara it was how she spent nearly every night in National City. The walls she had put up around herself had been far too imposing for anyone to breach, not that anyone had ever tried very hard. Until Kara, that is. No matter how Lena had tried to rebuff her, to keep her at arm’s length the way she kept everyone else in her life… She had failed. It was the one failure in her life that she could look back on fondly. 

  
She had been dividing her attention between the report on her desk and the clock above the door. She still had a good twenty minutes before having to call it a day but she found it impossible to concentrate. It wasn’t often that she found herself struggling to dive into her work and she knew better than to try when it was. Leaning back in her seat, her stomach gave a rumble, the final proof that it really was best to throw in the towel. 

No one at L-Corp could possibly accuse Lena of slacking but all the same, she felt the tiniest nibbling of guilt when she found herself stepping outside the office before the sky had even begun to darken. Not that she had any reason to. She spent at least a couple of nights a week working through the night and curling up on the couch in her office when she got too tired to keep her eyes open. There simply weren’t enough hours in the day and perhaps more importantly, there was nothing waiting for Lena back home except an empty apartment. An apartment that would be a little less empty tonight. The thought of Kara waiting for her back home made the corners of Lena’s mouth twitch upward, turning her head slightly to the side as if it was something she wanted to hide.  
  
The traffic is a lot heavier than what she’s used to; the last dregs of rush hour traffic still clogging up most of the streets. Tapping her fingers against the wheel, Lena pondered the ethical ramifications of fast-tracking the flying vehicle that L-Corp was still developing when she knew just how many other projects were far more important. A car behind her lays on their horn, one loud unending honk of their horn that was soon joined by several others as if answering its call.  
  
“This is what I get for leaving early,” Lena muttered, hesitating before laying on her horn. The cacophony seemed to do something as traffic began to flow again not long after. Lena pressed her foot more firmly on the accelerator, keen to put some distance between her and the rest of the cars. 

Even with the delay, Lena still found herself arriving a bit earlier than she had expected. She would have had just enough time to tidy up if it had needed it at all. If not for the few photographs scattered around the penthouse, one might have thought that it was still on the market. She had intended to look for another place ever since she had fully committed to making her move to National City more permanent but she had simply never gotten around to it. A change of address might make her feel like she was finally ready to put down roots but she wasn’t so sure. An empty apartment or an empty penthouse was in essence the very same thing. Not that she needed to worry about that tonight. Kara not only had a way of lighting up a room but making it warmer as well. Lena chalked it up to her contagious optimism. The same kind that had so easily wormed through her defenses.

As she was walking up the stairs, the rail-thin doorman snapped to attention, stowing his cellphone surreptitiously into his coat pocket so quickly that it almost looked like a magic trick. Lena considered flashing him a knowing smile but settled on pretending that she hadn’t seen anything at all.  
  
“Lena!”  
  
“Were you following me?” Lena teased, turning around and seeing Kara hurrying up the sidewalk, her eyes widening when she caught sight of just how many bags that Kara was carrying.  
  
“Following you? I-” Red Daughter’s expression froze for a brief moment before relaxing. “Yes, you caught me. Totally following you.” In fact, she _had_ been following Lena. She didn’t think it was possible to casually ask Lena for her address, not without setting off several alarm bells.  
  
“I could have given you a ride, Kara. Please don’t tell me you took all of that on the bus with you.”  
  
“No way, I took a taxi,” she said, gesturing over her shoulder. “I didn’t buy too much?”  
  
“I want to say yes but I’m not one to back down from a challenge, even if it means I’ll need to spend the next several days at the gym working it off. Give me some of those,” Lena said, stretching out her hands and plucking two of the larger bags from her before she could say no and gestured for her to follow.  
  
Once they were both in the elevator, Lena pressed the button for the penthouse and waited for the doors to close before turning to Kara. It was a habit she had picked up from a young age. Bugs and corporate spies were a dime a dozen and even though a closed-door didn’t guarantee privacy, it did help. “Did I ever tell you that you have the most _impeccable_ timing?” She arched an eyebrow and did her best to suppress the small giggle that came tumbling out of her mouth. “Work has been even more stressful than usual and there’s nothing I need more than a night in and _way_ too much junk food.”

“What are best friends for?”

* * *

  
Red Daughter had thought that Kara Danvers’ apartment had been extravagant but it was nothing compared to Lena’s home. To Red Daughter it looked like a place most would only ever see in their mind’s eye when conjuring up an image of luxury. To her, it reminded her of the elegant romanticism in _The Great Gatsby._ _  
__  
_“It hasn’t been that long since you’ve been here, has it?” Lena had set the two bags she was carrying down, kicking off her heels, giving the illusion she had quite suddenly shrunk a good two inches as she walked.  
  
“No, I just.. I forgot how beautiful your place is.”  
  
“Well feel free to come over more often if you need a refresher, I could use the company.” It was a truth that Lena didn’t vocalize often, even to her friends. No matter how much her life had changed for the better there was a loneliness that even they couldn’t fill. Realizing what she had said, Lena gave the coffee table in front of the couch a hard push closer to the couch, letting it intentionally drag over the floor.  
  
“I’ll find a bottle of wine and get the food laid out if you want to pick a movie we can throw on?” She pointed towards the shelf by the TV that was full to bursting with rows and rows of VHS tapes and DVDs.  
  
Red Daughter nodded, setting her bags of takeout food down on the coffee table and peering over Lena’s shoulder at the shelf.  
  
“I have the utmost faith in you.” Lena flashed her a playful grin and disappeared into the kitchen.  
  
Red Daughter’s head once again began moving as if it were on a swivel, all the more convinced that Lena’s life was very much like a fairytale. Maybe not a Kaznian one, of course... Those always seemed to have such bleak endings. She would have very much liked to take a look around but didn’t want to be caught marveling at a place she was supposed to be familiar with again.  
  
She turned her attention back to the shelf of movies, running her fingers along the spines. There were so many… How would she know which one to pick? She was close to picking one at random when her eyes fell on a title that jumped out at her.  
  
“What’s the verdict?” Lena returned from the kitchen, two wine glasses balanced in one hand, a bottle of wine in her other hand, and another tucked under her arm. 

“This is my favorite movie,” Red Daughter said, holding up a copy of _The Wizard of Oz._ More precisely it was Kara’s favorite movie.  
  
“I know,” Lena said, looking amused. “Why do you think I bought it?”  
  
Red Daughter’s cheeks went red and she dropped her gaze. “You didn’t have to do that.”  
  
Lena, who had returned to the kitchen to retrieve a wine opener didn’t hear her, her voice ringing out while she rummaged around in a drawer. “I take it we’re going to Oz tonight?”  
  
“Y- Wait.” Red Daughter’s eyes went wide, leaning closer to the shelf.  
  
Lena came back from the kitchen, giving the wine opener in her hand a little waggle to show that she found it.  
  
“I want to watch this,” Red Daughter said, holding out a DVD.  
  
“Not Oz then?” Lena smiled, beginning to work the corkscrew into one of the bottles she had brought. “I would open up something more expensive but I don’t think any of those would pair particularly well with Big Belly Burger, so Cabernet Sauvignon it is.” Gripping the bottle in her right hand, Lena began to work the corkscrew, giving it a firm yank and pulling the cork free. She used the hand holding the corkscrew to point at the cabinet under the TV. “It really has been a long time since you’ve been over, hasn’t it? Maybe if your place wasn’t so cozy and mine wasn’t so-”  
  
“Beautiful?”  
  
“I was going to say cold but I’ll take the compliment.” Lena filled both glasses with a generous amount of wine before she began to take food out from the bags, arranging it as best she could. “The remote is somewhere.” She groped for it in the couch and sighed.  
  
“I’ll find it.” Red Daughter flashed Lena a small smile, waiting for Lena’s attention to return to the spread on the coffee table before letting tilting her glasses down the bridge of her nose and giving the apartment a quick once-over. She spotted it in all places, the fridge.” _Does Lena keep it there for safekeeping?_  
  
Knowing better than to make a beeline for the remote, especially with it in the kitchen, she pretended to search in the living room for a bit. Peering underneath a chair and on the counter before making her way to the kitchen.  
  
“You don’t really think I’m that scatterbrained, do you?” Lena called back at her retreating figure. 

Red Daughter said nothing when she came back into the living room but gave the remote in her hand a little wiggle, the same kind Lena had with the wine opener. 

“Maybe I really did need a girls’ night.” Lena curled up on one end of the sofa, grabbing for one of the many burgers on the coffee table and unwrapping it just enough to take a bite. “You bring me Big Belly Burger and you find my remote,” she said, patting the couch to get Kara to join her. “Is it any wonder you’re my favorite person in the world?”  
  
A faint flush of color tinged Red Daughter’s face. She had just put the DVD in and was about to sit on the opposite end of the sofa when she saw Lena patting the cushion next to her. _Maybe Kara and Lena always sit close together?_ Needing to make a decision, she veered off at the last second and sat down next to Lena. She was relieved when instead of giving her a strange look, she passed her a burger and gave it a small bump with hers that Red Daughter returned. 

  
Why hadn’t Alex told her that they had made a film adaption of _The Great Gatsby?_ Probably for the same reasons that he wanted her to re-read it. She had come away without grasping its true message. She could understand Alex’s point of view but all the same, she found herself completely enraptured seeing the book brought to life, so much so that it took her a moment to realize that Lena was tapping her on the shoulder.  
  
“Sorry,” Red Daughter said, I got distracted.”  
  
“I noticed. Maybe it’s because this is the first time we’ve watched anything other than _The Wizard of Oz_ when you come over,” she teased. “Not that I mind. There are troubling similarities between my mother and the Wicked Witch of the West that are a little hard to ignore. Maybe next time I see her I’ll try throwing a glass of water at her…” Balling up her now empty burger wrapper, she pulled a bag of fries closer to her, grabbing a fry and waving it at Red Daughter. “Don’t make me eat this all by myself, Kara. The tabloids have enough ammo on me without turning their attention to my figure.”

 _That_ would be just the kind of story that would get Lillian to reach out to her again. If she wasn’t calling because she wanted something from Lena she was likely calling to gloat. A failed project, relationship, whatever she thought might send Lena running back to the fold, finally ready to stop denying what Lillian thought was her true nature. Before Lena had met Kara she had considered that herself, wondering if all her efforts to walk a different path than her family was just her fighting against something inevitable. She had been the first person in National City to look past her name, to believe in her desire to do good.  
  
“Do I have something on my face?” Red Daughter was halfway through her third burger and had been going in for another bite when she froze, noticing that Lena’s attention was on her instead of the movie.  
“No, I was just..” What was she doing? It wasn’t the first time that Lena had caught herself staring at Kara but it was the first time that Kara had noticed. “Just glad to see you brought your appetite.”  
  
“Oh.” Red Daughter looked down at the balled-up food wrappers in front of her and blushed. “I think I forgot how good Big Belly Burger is.”  
  
“Lucky you. I never do... That’s what makes it so hard,” Lena joked. “I would kill for your metabolism, Kara.”  
  
“But you’re so beautiful,” Red Daughter assured her. She gestured to the TV, seeming to come to her senses and take a hurried bite of her burger to give her an excuse to be silent. The movie was beautiful, like the novel come to life, but Red Daughter knew that it was false. Something that could never be… But Lena wasn’t. This place was real and so was she… _Kara Danvers is very lucky,_ she thought.  
  
Even now, Lena was not used to being praised simply for its own sake. The corners of her mouth turned upward and she too, hastily nibbled on a few more fries, unsure of just how to respond to the compliment.  
  
After the movie finished, Red Daughter dabbed at the corners of her eyes, not wanting Lena to know that she was close to tears. The two sat in silence for a while stealing glances at one another when the other wasn’t looking. Red Daughter broke the silence, turning towards Lena, and bringing her knees up to her chest. “You looked busy today. I hope I didn’t bother you.”  
  
Lena turned towards her, looking back at her surprised. “You could _never_ bother me, Kara. Although if you wanted, Eve could probably give you lessons. Balancing projects and funding is doubly hard when public opinion of the company is at an all-time low isn’t easy but with Lex in prison, things might actually be looking up. Not that I expect prison to slow him down much, I know him far too well to believe that.”  
  
 _Lex? She calls Alex Lex?_

“You’re afraid he will break out?”  
  
“I _know_ he can break out. I’m more worried about what kind of clarity a prison cell will bring him. It’s hard to save the world when your brother is so hellbent on destroying it.” She made a warding off gesture to show that she didn’t want to bore Kara with what she thought was a topic they had already discussed ad nauseam. “More importantly, what about your vacation?” She turned to look at the clock. “Do you have an early flight? I don’t want you to be a walking zombie when you go back.”  
  
 _In a manner of speaking, I do…_ “Not that early. I can stay longer if you don’t mind the company.”  
  
“Never. You’re welcome to stay the night if you want. You’re more than welcome to the bed and I could drop you off at the airport before I go into work.”  
  
“Where would you sleep?”  
  
Lena patted the arm of the couch. “I’ve spent the last couple nights curled up on the couch in my office and it isn’t half as big as this one. She reached for her wine glass, draining it in one go, grinning. “This is about as close as a Luthor will ever get to roughing it. I’m more than up for it.”  
  
“No,” Red Daughter said, sounding almost scandalized. “I…” She wasn’t actually thinking about staying, was she? Looking at the clock it was already well past midnight… She was supposed to be back in Kaznia by now but she didn’t want to go. This could be the last time she was ever able to see Lena again. It filled her with a sadness that she didn’t completely understand. She had just met her this afternoon, after all. “I could sleep on the couch. I’m willing to bet your couch is way more comfortable than my bed.”  
  
Lena tilted her head slightly to the side before nodding, agreeing with her. “But my bed is even more comfortable than that, and you’re my guest and my best friend which means you really don’t have any say in the matter.” She dusted off her hands as if she had just won a longstanding argument and grinned.  
  
“You’re stubborn.”  
  
“I’m a Luthor,” Lena countered. She reached for the last bottle of wine, nearly knocking it over in the process and poured the last bit of it into her glass and swirled it quickly before downing it in one go. “I think all the food you ate soaked up all the wine you drank.” Lena was not so lucky. She had flown right past tipsy and barreled right towards drunk.  
  
“You’re drunk.”  
  
“Please don’t tell me it took CatCo’s best reporter that long to figure that out.” Lena giggled and ran a clumsy hand through her hair.  
  
“No…” Red Daughter said carefully. “But I do think that you deserve the bed more than me.” She stood up, took a deep breath, and leaned down to scoop Lena up in her arms.  
  
Lena was so shocked that she could do nothing else but open her mouth soundlessly for a few seconds before she found her voice again. “Kara! What are you doing?” She didn’t dare fight her, not wanting to send them both to the floor. “I weigh a ton and… Why are you so strong?” She caught sight of Kara’s cheeks which were both bright red. “Look who’s talking,” she muttered, thinking that the color in her cheeks was from the wine. She couldn’t be further from the truth.  
  
Red Daughter had grown used to hearing other people’s heartbeat. It was the first time that she had noticed her own, and how could she not? It sounded so loud she was surprised that Lena couldn’t hear it. Nudging Lena’s bedroom door open with her foot, she deposited her onto the bed. “I win.”  
  
“The couch?” Lena cocked an eyebrow at her but seemed to accept her defeat. She rolled off the bed with some difficulty, crossing to the bureau and pulling out a nightie. Without giving her so much as a warning, Lena began to disrobe clumsily, hopping on one foot and just barely catching herself.  
  
Red Daughter’s already red face deepened in color and she spun around quickly, sending a small gust of wind blowing that Lena thankfully didn’t seem to notice. If she wanted to ask Lena any questions that might normally set off alarm bells, now would be the time but she couldn’t think of a single question, at least any that pertained to Kara Danvers…  
  
Lena’s bedroom was decorated similarly to the rest of the penthouse and Red Daughter took her time drinking in every detail. She caught sight of herself in a mirror on the opposite wall as well as Lena who was in the middle of tossing her bra aside.  
  
“I’ll go to the other-” Red Daughter shook her head. “I’ll go.”  
  
“Hang on.” Lena’s voice came out slightly muffled, caught in the middle of pulling her nightie on over her head. “I have some pajamas that should fit you. More sensible and a lot comfier” she added, knowing how much Kara loved to be comfortable above all else. “Top drawer.”  
  
Clearing her throat, Red Daughter shuffled over to the bureau, opening the drawer and pretended she didn’t see a number of lacier undergarments arranged neatly to one side and grabbed a set of flannel pajamas that looked somewhat out of place.  
  
“I like to be comfy too,” Lena said as if she could read her mind. She had finished changing and was sitting on the edge of the bed. “Do you want me to turn around?”  
  
“Huh?” Red Daughter gaped at her, needing a moment to catch on and shook her head. “I can change out there.”  
  
“Do you think I’m going to peek?” Lena giggled, laying back on the bed and pulled the blanket over her face. “Last time I checked I didn’t have X-ray vision but we may be working on that at L-Corp…”  
  
“Nooo. Just.” Red Daughter swallowed, doublechecking that Lena really couldn’t see her, waving a hand out to check before she quickly changed, once again sending small gusts of wind blowing around the room.  
  
“Ready. I mean done changing. Not ready.” Could Lena really not hear her heart beating? Or was she just too polite to say so?  
  
“I don’t think I would have seen anything if I did sneak a peek,” Lena teased.  
  
 _Probably not._

Lena wriggled under the covers until only her head was peeking out, one leg coming out from under the blanket to hang off the edge. She looked thoughtfully at her and patted the other side of the bed. “You could sleep here.”  
  
“Here?”  
  
“It’s not like the bed isn’t big enough,” Lena reasoned. “And it would make me feel a lot less guilty if you didn’t sleep on the couch. If word ever got out my name would be dragged through the mud, not that it isn’t already.”  
  
“I-” Red Daughter swallowed, fiddling with one of the buttons on the pajamas that Lena had let her borrow. “I don’t know…”  
  
“You act like I’m talking you into bed with me.” Lena paused, shrugging. “OK, technically I am but look how much empty space there is.” She gestured with all the grace of a beautiful woman on a gameshow revealing that day’s marvelous prizes.  
  
“If you’re sure,” Red Daughter said carefully, determined to look anywhere but at Lena. “And if you change your mind-”  
  
“I kick you out,” Lena teased.  
  
Red Daughter nodded, approaching the bed like a skittish wild animal, sitting on the very edge of the bed before very slowly laying down, keeping her body as straight as possible, determined to take up as little room as possible.  
  
Lena watched all this, shaking her head. She scooted closer to the middle, reaching out and giving Kara’s arm a tug. “You’re going to roll off if you do that.”  
  
Red Daughter tried to resist, finally relenting and letting her be pulled away from the edge. “Happy?”  
  
“Ecstatic. I always am with you…” Lena stifled a yawn, punching her pillow into a more comfortable shape.  
  
Red Daughter felt Lena’s hand that had been wrapped around her forearm slacken and then wrap around her side. “L-Lena!”  
Lena had already drifted off, her steady breathing growing louder before it evened out.  
  
Red Daughter could have wiggled out from under her arm. She had started to do so and stopped. It was nice… She pulled her pillow closer to her, looking up at the ceiling for a bit before turning her head to study Lena’s face. Hesitating, she lifted her arm, hovering it over Lena’s side before letting it fall there. She would have moved it away if Lena didn’t snuggle against it, closing the distance between them.  
  
 _What are you doing?_ Red Daughter asked herself, unable to come up with an answer before she fell asleep, a small smile on her face that she had no idea was there in the first place. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kara really picked the worst time to go on vacation..


	3. The morning after

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Red Daughter leaving National City with even more questions she had than before, she's convinced that it will be the last time she'll ever be able to see Lena again, while Lena is left to deal with her feelings the only way she knows how. Pushing them down into itty bitty boxes...

Most nights, Red Daughter tossed and turned, her dreams flashes of places and people that she never remembered come morning. That night her sleep was dreamless and when she awoke in the morning she couldn’t remember feeling so rested. It didn’t stop her from sitting up quite suddenly when she remembered where she was.  
  
She ran a nervous hand through her hair, plucking at the pajamas she was wearing as if she needed to confirm that she wasn’t in a very vivid dream. Lena’s side of the bed was empty and she could hear her in the other room. Judging from the way the blankets were tangled the two had slept curled up the entire night. Red Daughter blushed at the thought.  
  
Before she could get lost in her own thoughts again, there was a featherlight knock on the door before Lena opened the door carrying a tray in one hand, already dressed in a smart purple suit. She was balancing a tray in one hand, carefully setting it down on the table by the window.  
  
“I thought you’d stay sleeping a while longer,” Lena said, looking at Red Daughter before turning back and busying herself with the tray. “I really didn’t want to wake you but I wasn’t sure what time your flight was and I would hate for you to miss any more of your vacation than you already have.”  
  
“My flight?” Red Daughter asked, sounding alarmed. “Oh, I _definitely_ won’t miss that.” If anyone in Kaznia had noticed she had gone, what would she be coming back to? Panic? A very angry Alex?  
  
“I don’t really do breakfast or any cooking for that matter… But I did make coffee and I found some cookies in the cupboard and I brought you some aspirin if you need it, which if my condition is any indication you definitely will.”  
  
Lena said all this without turning around, her shoulders slumping as she forced herself to turn around. “I-” She rubbed at her temple, dropping her gaze to the floor looking very unlike herself. “I’m sorry if I ruined our Girls’ night.” She forced a smile to her face, turning her wrist towards her to check her watch. “I really do have to run though, I’m already late and Eve’s already texted me three times. But I’ll see you when you get back. Call me?”  
  
“Definitely.” Red Daughter had pulled the blankets up around her and sunk back down into the bed, making it appear she had suddenly taken ill.  
  
“Great.” Lena flashed her a smile that faded a bit too quickly before turning to leave.  
  
“Lena?”  
  
“Hmm?”  
  
“You definitely didn’t ruin Girls’ night. I’ve never had more fun.”  
  
“Oh?” Relief washed over Lena’s face and she ran a nervous hand through her hair. “I did too, Kara.” She made a ‘call me’ gesture with her hand and slipped out the door, closing it behind her.  
  
Red Daughter waited until she heard the elevator ding and Lena stop onto it before moving. Instead of getting up, she buried herself deeper into the blankets, hiding her face that was now a deep shade of red. Ever since setting foot in Kara Danvers’ apartment, Red Daughter had been confused and had grown steadily more so. She really did need to return to Kaznia, if only to get away from America, away from all the questions that she could not answer. 

* * *

  
  
Flying high above the clouds, there is no more clarity than there was down on the ground. She had made the bed and taken one last look around the penthouse before leaving. Eve had been right about one thing, it had been foolish for her to approach Lena masquerading as Kara Danvers, and downright dangerous for her to spend the evening with her. She knew that, and yet she couldn’t find herself able to regret her decision. She hadn’t been lying when she told Lena that she had never had more fun. She just wished it did not have to be the last...  
  


It didn’t take Red Daughter long to return to Kaznia. Instead of landing near the bunker, she instead touched down at one of the sites she had first started her training. It had once been a particularly dense part of the forest but now it more resembled a clearing if not for the fallen trees that the Kaznians had given up on moving and the deep cracks in the earth that she herself had made while testing the limits of her strength. 

“Where have you been?” A soldier called out as Red Daughter approached the bunker.  
  
“Training,” Red Daughter said, ignoring just how slow some of the soldiers were to lower their weapons even after identifying her. 

“We’ve heard nothing,” one of the soldiers said.

“Which means I vas training well.”  
  
The soldier looked unconvinced but seemed unwilling to do anything more than look at her skeptically. “ _He_ wants to speak with you,” the soldier said, pointing to the bunker, shouldering his weapon and returning to his patrol.  
  
_Of course, he does,_ she thought, feeling her stomach begin to do some very unpleasant flips.  
  
She half-expected to see Alex sitting down in front of the chessboard, but all that was waiting for her in the bunker was another soldier who pushed a satellite phone into her hands before walking away.  
  
“Hello?” She had brought the phone to her ear, wishing very much that she could see Alex in person. At least then she would know how angry he was with her. 

“I was starting to worry. When they said they couldn’t find you…”  
  
“I was training. I know why you are calling. Eve contacted you.”  
  
There was silence on the other end of the line that stretched out to what felt to her like a very long moment.  
  
“Yes, Eve called me. You met Lena.”  
  
“I did. I vanted to prove myself, to see if I could fool Kara’s best friend into believing I am her.”  
  
Lex sighed. “I understand wanting to test your disguise but I wish you would have picked someone a bit less perceptive. Kara Danvers has no shortage of friends.”  
  
_And why is that?_ _  
_ _  
_ “You’re angry.”  
  
“Yes,” Lex said plainly. “With myself. It’s only natural that you would be curious and I normally appreciate those willing to take the initiative but approaching Lena was dangerous-”  
  
“Foolish,” Red Daughter added.  
  
“Yes, foolish. Even if you had months to prepare, I would still be wary about you spending any extended amount of time with Lena but it appears that she really does suspect nothing. Eve has been keeping a very close eye on her. Not that I imagine even she would suspect anything from a brief conversation in an elevator.”  
  
Red Daughter remained silent, guilty at the relief that washed over her. Lex didn’t seem to know that she had stayed not just a couple hours longer in National City but nearly an entire day… “I am sorry, Alex.”  
  
“I know you are. And maybe I was wrong. Kara Danvers’ absence is an opportunity that should not be squandered. It will be far harder moving around freely in National City once she’s back, which is why we need to work quickly.”  
  
“What are you planning?”  
  
“Are you worried that I’ll keep you in the dark?” He continued without giving Red Daughter a chance to answer. “I’ll explain everything to you tomorrow. In National City. I need you to get there on your own and for you to remain out of sight. I still have an apartment there. 1940 Washington Avenue Apartment 23.”

Red Daughter clutched the sat phone hard enough to hear the whine of metal before she realized what she was doing and loosened her grip. “When do you want me to leave?”  
  
“Tonight. My leash is tighter than I would like it to be. Our little visits will need to become a little less frequent for a while, but I can meet you tomorrow. It isn’t a conversation that we can have over the phone.”  
  
“Vat do you have planned, Alex?”  
  
“Tomorrow. Make sure that you are not seen, that includes my sister,” he said, cutting the connection without so much as a goodbye.  
  
Red Daughter set the sat phone down onto the chessboard. It was not even midday yet and she had no desire to disobey Alex again. She would go when it was dark and wait for him in National City. Until then she could do nothing else but wait.

* * *

  
Red Daughter’s first thought upon entering Alex’s apartment was how much it reminded her of the bunker. The size was comparable to Lena’s penthouse but even with how tastefully decorated it was, she still thought that it felt empty.  
  
She opened the fridge, not because she was hungry but simply because she was curious and was surprised to see it fully stocked with food. Even more surprising was finding pajamas waiting for her on the bed and a fully stocked wardrobe in a closet. She didn’t know for sure but she guessed that it would all fit perfectly if she were to try it on. 

_What are you planning?_ Red Daughter pondered as she lay down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. “Tomorrow,” she said out loud, finding that sleep did not come as easily as it had the night before. She turned onto her side, her arm reaching out for something that wasn’t there, thinking of a woman across the city who was still hunched over her desk at L-Corp. 

After leaving early the day before and coming in late today she really didn’t have a choice but to stay late. At least that’s what she told herself. Today had been one of the astronomically rare days where they were actually ahead of schedule. It wouldn’t last, she was far too pragmatic a person to believe that but for tonight at least she would have been free, but she had still opted to stay behind and go back over old projects that L-Corp had already deemed lost causes.  
  
She couldn’t go home tonight maybe not for a few nights or ever, she was still playing it by ear. Work had kept her mind blissfully occupied so that she wasn’t forced to dwell on what happened last night. Most of it was a blur but she remembered enough of it. Most importantly she remembered the morning after. She had woken up spooning with Kara. The memory was still vivid enough to make her blush and hide her face in her hands, trying once again to push it from her mind. It was like trying to force a very angry lion back into its cage with a feather duster.  
  
Even though Kara had assured her that she had enjoyed herself, Lena had done a very good job of convincing herself that she had simply said so to spare her feelings. She had been hoping that Kara would text her to give her another chance to apologize. She felt weird reaching out and the more time that passed the weirder she felt. 

Lena knew she could have texted her and had come close several times, grabbing her phone and starting to write a text before deleting it. She found herself reaching for her phone again and yanked it away like she had received an electric shock.  
  
_That’s perfect, Lena. Get drunk and spoon with her and then wake her up out of a dead sleep. You can be the annoying Luthor._

Wishing very much that a hole would open up in her office floor that she could jump into, she was startled when her phone gave a buzz, jittering across the table, coming to a stop near her elbow.  
  
Sliding it across the desk closer to her like one might a poker hand, she flipped it up to glance at the screen. There weren’t many people that would text her this late and she wasn’t all that surprised to see Kara’s name across the screen.

 _Miss me yet?_ _  
_ _  
_ Lena instantly felt a wave of relief wash over her when she read that, her fingers poised over the screen, typing out a quick message. 

_I think you need to be gone a little longer for me to officially start missing you, Kara_ _  
_

_What about unofficially?_ _  
_ _  
_ _Is this off the record?_ _  
_ _  
_ _I suppose I can make an exception for you_

 _Then, yes. And why aren’t you in bed?_ _  
_ _  
_ _I am in bed, I just can’t sleep. I’d ask what you’re doing up but I think I already know. No rest for the world-saving genius._ _  
_ _  
_ _That or the wicked._

 _That is most definitely not you. Dinner when I get back? My treat?_ _  
_ _  
_ _Definitely_

 _It’s a date. Talk to you tomorrow?_ __  
  
Lena froze. Here was an opportunity to address the big stupid spooning elephant in the room and it was slipping through her fingers. She could clear the air, offer a better apology than the one she had given her this morning or she could forget how happy she had been to find that Kara’s arm wrapped around her. Push that feeling of love down into a box and bury it as deep as she could and wait for it to burst out of the ground like a zombie. She hesitated a moment longer and then decided to bury it. 

_Tomorrow_

_Sleep tight ❤_

“Fuck my life,” Lena muttered, vowing to bury that particular box even deeper. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor confused Lena


	4. You can't be in two places at once

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Lex's plans taking shape, Red Daughter finds herself with a new mission that may already be destined for failure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've finally reached the point where canon had diverged almost completely from the show. I debated keeping Alex's memory wiped but I never liked that particular plot so it's gone.

Red Daughter heard the apartment door open not long after the sun had just begun to come up. The sound had been quiet enough that she may have slept right through it if she had been asleep in the first place.   
  
“Alex?” She slid out of bed, walking to the door and opening it to find him sitting at the table near the kitchen.    
  
“You’re awake,” he said, not sounding all that surprised. “Good.” He gestured to the chair across from his, shrugging off his jacket and pulling off the wig that he had worn on their first trip to National City. “Our time today will need to be shorter than I would like it to be.”    
  
Red Daughter sat down across from him. “You said you would tell me everything,” she reminded him.    
  
“I did, but we don’t have time for everything today.” He reached down and lifted a briefcase onto the table, undoing the latches and opening it before turning it towards her. “But I have no intention of keeping you in the dark.” He gestured to the briefcase, sitting back in his chair.   
  
She pulled it closer, pulling a manila envelope from inside and ripping open the top. Spilling its contents out onto the table she held up what appeared to be a very small book.   
  
“What is all this?”   
  
“Your new life.” It wasn’t just the contents of the envelope that he gestured to but the apartment as well. “Open it.”    
  
She flipped open the passport, surprised to see her own face staring back at her. “Linda Lee?”   
  
“You can’t spend every second of the day masquerading as Kara Danvers, especially when she returns to the city. You need to be able to move around freely.”   
  
“You vant me to stay here? To do vat?”   
  
Lex only stared at her before continuing as if he hadn’t heard her. “You’ve languished down in that bunker for too long already. You fooling my sister yesterday is proof of that.” Lex reached out and shut the briefcase, pushing it aside. “For all of her other faults, she is not stupid and with more time I know that you will be able to make her believe that you truly are Kara Danvers.”    
  
“Thank you…” Her eyes flicked away from Alex’s for a brief moment, settling on the passport again. If she had been honest with him from the beginning, he would know that his prediction was already correct. “But why is it so important that Lena believe so?”   
  
“I need something from her.”    
  
“She is your sister.”   
  
Lex smiled, nodding, already anticipating the question that she wanted to ask. “Yes, she is”   
  
“Then why not just ask for it?”   
  
“I considered that. And I think if given the right circumstances she would give it to me, but much like my freedom it would come with strings.” He was silent for a time, studying Red Daughter's face before elaborating. "We've both disappointed each other too much to be anything but mistrustful of one another." His face fell and he was silent for a time, the way he sometimes did when contemplating his next move in chess.

"And you think she would give Kara Danvers what you vant without strings?"

Lex chuckled. "Yes, I do. If she truly thinks you are Kara but if she suspects anything, it would jeopardize everything. That's why I need you to promise me that you will not be impatient again."

Red Daughter nodded. "I promise. I will be patient."

"I know you will."

"What is it that you need from Lena?"

"This," he said, opening the briefcase and pulling out a photo that he slid over the table to her. "It's called Harun-El. It is one of a kind."

_ Like Lena,  _ Red Daughter thought.

"Without it, whatever great things that you and I can do for Kaznia and the rest of the world will be built upon sand."

"I don't understand…"

"And you don't need to. Not yet, at least. I want you to focus on learning more about Kara Danvers, her city, the way she talks, walks, anything that you think might be important."

"You vant me to follow her?" 

"I don't need to tell you how important it is that you're not seen." 

"When you think you are ready to become Kara Danvers, then we can discuss approaching Lena." 

"But if I ask her for this, this Harun-El. What will I say I need it for?"

"You won't need to say anything," Lex said, checking his watch. He looked at Red Daughter almost pityingly. "I told you before that everyone has a weakness. Everyone. Lena's just happens to be Kara Danvers." 

"And yours, Alex?" The question had sprung to her lips before she could stop herself. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-" 

"I told you already that you don't need to apologize for being curious. I like to think that I have none."

Red Daughter smiled. "That sounds like you."

"But if I have one, it's you," he lied. "You don't know the great things that you'll do one day, but you will soon." He gestured to the contents of the manila envelope on the table. ID, money, a home," he said, gesturing around. "You have everything you need to make a life here. I need you to learn to impersonate Kara Danvers but you must also learn to live among the people of the city."

"I don't understand…"

"Experience is the best teacher. I need you to see with your own eyes how desperately America needs someone to lead them back into the light. Supergirl is a bandaid over a festering wound and while she flies high above them pretending that she is their savior, the people below are forced to suffer while she hides among them.”

He pulled on his coat, once again checking his watch. He closed the distance between them putting his hands on Red Daughter’s shoulders. “I know that you can do this.”   
  
“Thank you, Alex… I will be more cautious.”   
  
“See to it that you do. I am counting on you. I need you to watch Kara Danvers’s apartment. When she returns you will need to study her. You need to be perfect. I need to go. We’ll talk soon but it may be some time before we are able to meet face-to-face.” Lex grabbed his wig, unable to hide his distaste as he adjusted it before heading to the door.   
  
“Alex! I have one question. Please.”   
  
He merely nodded, turning back around to face her.   
  
“When I went to see Lena at L-Corp… I could hear someone’s heartbeat in the lobby,” she lied. “It was very rapid even though they were not exerting themselves. I don’t understand why.”   
  
Annoyance flitted over Lex’s face before disappearing once again. “That would make two of us.” His expression softened somewhat. “If I had to guess, I would say that they were in love.”    
  
_ Love?!  _ _  
_ _  
_ “I see,” Red Daughter stammered, picking up the credit cards on the table and shuffled them, pretending to examine them. “Like in  _ Gatsby _ .”   
  
“Yes,” Lex agreed. “I can’t think of a more fitting representation… But I really need to go. Don’t take any unnecessary risks, I’m counting on you. I’ll be in touch.”    
  
Red Daughter waited until Lex had closed the door behind him to let out the breath she had been holding. She didn’t love Lena. She hardly knew her. Journal entries and a single evening… One did not fall in love like that? Not, at first sight, it was preposterous…    
  
She set about gathering up what Lex had left behind. She flipped open the passport again to stare at ‘her’ photo. “Linda Lee,” she repeated. It sounded unnatural to her, but it had only now dawned on her that she had no name until now.    
  
Meaning to put the briefcase away she spied what took up a large portion of it, looking from it to her passport picture. “Oh,” she said, reaching into the briefcase and pulling out a wig, her mouth drooping into a melancholy frown.

* * *

  
Even after several days to get used to her disguise, Red Daughter vastly preferred disguising herself as Kara than Linda Lee. Her clothes were more comfortable for one and most importantly the wig itched. She considered venturing back into Kara’s apartment but thought better of it. She had promised Alex that she would be careful and she intended to be.    
  
She had been coming to the same cafe to keep watch on Kara Danvers’s apartment Today, she had once again ordered a cup of coffee but had only taken a perfunctory sip. It was bitter and she believed that she already had enough bitter things in her life. Red Daughter had been far more interested in the variety of sweets on display at the counter. Alex would have considered it an example of American excess and she supposed he wasn’t wrong but they were very good.    
  
To alleviate her guilt somewhat she had limited herself to sampling only three a day and regretted the fact that she had eaten them all so quickly. Scanning Kara’s apartment again, she saw that it was still empty. Settling back into her seat, she ran her finger along the ridge of her plate, scooping up a small glob of frosting that had escaped her notice and sucked it off the tip of her finger.    


She always waited until dark before leaving and today was no exception. She stood up from the table, brushing crumbs from her lap and joined the bustle of people going in both directions up and down the sidewalk.

Taking one last look up at the apartment she was shocked to see movement by the window. Was it Alex? Kara's Alex or was it Kara herself? Crossing the street, she bent down and pretended to tie her shoe, trying to drown out the sounds of the people on the street and focus only on Kara’s apartment. What had once been so difficult for her to do had become almost second nature. She had Alex to thank for that and that made her feel all the more guilty that she was keeping things from him.    
  
Leaning against the wall of the apartment she could make out not just one voice but two of them.   
  
“See? I told you they were fine.”   
  
Red Daughter recognized the voice at once, it was Alex.  _ Not Lena, _ she thought, scolding herself for even thinking it could be.    
  
“I believed you, I just wanted to be sure is all, I can’t do pets and my plants are the closest thing I have.”    
  
“And you thought I killed them.”   
  
“Nooo," Kara said. "Never."   
  
It was beyond strange for Red Daughter to hear her own voice coming from somebody else. She was supposed to be studying her, every inflection, her turn of phrase… She would when she had a chance to process everything, but today she would need to settle on getting confirmation that she was back in the city.   
  
“Is that why you came back early? Journal, my ass.”   
  
Red Daughter’s eyes went wide and she nearly dropped the purse she was pretending to rifle through while she eavesdropped.    
  
“Journal?” Kara asked. “What are you talking about?”   
  
“Silly writer, without her journal,” Alex repeated. “When I think you meant to say was silly sister, horrible plant-killer.”   
  
“It might be my vacation brain, Alex, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”   
  
“I came to water your plants the other day and you were already here.” Alex pointed to the journal. “You said that you came back to get your journal…” 

“Please tell me you’re joking. When was this?”   
  
“A few days ago… Thursday.”    
  
“Uh uh. I mean I did do some flying that day but not back here.”   
  
“Well I don’t know who it was I talked to then, Kara, because I know you’re fast but not even you can be in two places at once.”    
  
“Alien?”    
  
“That makes more sense than an evil twin. Maybe-”   
  
Red Daughter had heard enough. She immediately set off back in the direction of her apartment, keeping her head low and trying not to draw attention to herself. Had she failed already? She needed to talk to Alex. To tell him because this wasn’t something she could keep from him. Would he send her back to Kaznia?  _ Back to my cage?  _ She hadn’t always thought of it as such but her newfound freedom had made her reassess what she thought of as home.    
  
And if she was sent back to Kaznia, would she ever be allowed to return? Maybe someday but certainly not soon.   
  
She came to a halt a few blocks from her apartment. She would miss waking up to sunlight on her face, the food. The freedom to do what she wanted… But it wasn’t what she thought of when she ducked into an alley instead of going back to her apartment. She did a quick scan of the alley before flying straight up into the air.  
  
Red Daughter had promised Alex that she would not see Lena or anyone again, but if they had already been found out... She really didn't know how she could make things worse, and even if she did, she still wanted to see her all the same.  
  
Riding up in the elevator to Lena's penthouse, she only just remembered, digging around in her purse before pulling out the pair of glasses she had taken from Kara's apartment, putting them on and glancing at her reflection before the elevator doors dinged open.  
  
She knocked twice, hearing Lena's voice from inside and her footsteps drawing closer.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really didn't mean to end things on a cliffhanger. Apologies in advance.


	5. My Wild Irish Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Red Daughter thinking that her time in National City is at an end, she can think of only one way she wants to spend her last bit of time before returning while Lena tries to clear the air about their Girls' night.

“Kara!”  
  
Lena had opened the door just enough to peer through the gap before throwing it open. “I was just about to text you, But you must be exhausted, what are you doing here?”  
  
“I wanted to see you,” Red Daughter said. She still couldn’t explain why she found herself drawn to Lena but she was no longer able to pretend that she wasn’t, her circumstances didn’t give her the luxury.  
  
“Well I’m flattered, Kara, but it’s so late, we could have seen each other any time,” she said, looking clearly pleased despite her protests.  
  
“I’m not interrupting anything am I?”  
  
Lena cocked an eyebrow and swung her door open wider to reveal the same penthouse that Red Daughter remembered so well.  
  
“I’m absolutely swamped but I think I can make time for my best friend.” _Yes, your best friend, Lena. Not… That. Not anything else._  
  
Red Daughter slipped inside, knowing better than to get caught marveling at Lena’s penthouse again, stealing only a few glances before turning back to Lena.  
  
“You don’t want to watch another movie, do you?” Lena teased. “Or did you come to tell me all about your trip?”  
  
“No. I mean, I would love to watch a movie with you again. Another girls’ night… But I don’t think I can stay long.”  
  
“You _are_ tired.” Lena looked at her reproachfully.  
  
“I’m not that tired. I just shouldn’t stay too long. Work”  
  
“Mm-hmm,” Lena said, not sounding completely convinced. “You would think your relentless quest for truth would pay better, especially considering how hard you work, although lying has certainly done wonders for my family, or their bank accounts at least, but before I force you into a cab so you can get some rest, what did you want to talk about? I’d love to hear all about your trip but I think that can wait.”  
  
“I don’t know,” Red Daughter answered honestly. “I really just wanted to see you again.” _Before I have to say goodbye._ _  
  
_

“Oh.” Lena looked momentarily confused before smiling. “You came to the right place then. I thought maybe you would want to talk about…” She waved her hand out in front of her, her smile fading. “Never mind.”  
  
“No,” Red Daughter said. “What is it?”  
  
Lena sighed. “I know you said you were fine, but I just wanted to be sure that you didn’t feel weird about the other night. We really didn’t get a chance to talk about it and I had _way_ too much to drink, not that that is in any way an excuse, I just. I would have never-”  
  
“I did feel weird,” Red Daughter admitted.  
  
“See, I knew it.” Lena stood up, beginning to pace. “I could have taken you to the airport and cleared the air and instead I ran off. I’m so sorry, Kara.”  
  
“No, you don’t need to apologize, Lena.” Red Daughter’s hands twisted in her lap. 

“Of course you would say that Kara, but I really do.”

“I did feel weird but it wasn’t bad weird, just different”  
  


“Oh…”  
  


For the first time ever Red Daughter actually wished she was wearing her wig if she had that she could have obscured her face with it to hide the fact that she was blushing. “I’ve never-”  
  
“Had your best friend drag you into bed with them?” Lena asked, her own pale cheeks turning steadily redder.  
  


“Yes,” Red Daughter agreed, her lips curving into a shy smile. “First time.” It seemed that her life the last few days had been full of nothing but firsts and that’s what made the prospect of returning to Kaznia so unappealing. That and the prospect of not being able to see Lena again.  
  
“First and last, I promise.” Lena’s expression softened and she finally stopped pacing, “I can’t imagine losing you as a friend, Kara,” she said, speaking more to herself _._ “I know this wasn’t the conversation you wanted to have when you stopped by to see me but you should probably be going. It’s getting late and you just got back. We can talk tomorrow.”  
  
“I should,” Red Daughter agreed. “But I would really like to stay.” She swallowed hard, surprised that she had even been able to admit that out loud. If there was any silver lining to the whole mess, it was knowing that if she did not seize the opportunity now she may never get another one again.  
  
“Well, I’m not going to kick you out, Kara.” Lena joined her on the couch, sitting on the opposite side. “Are you hungry? Or do you want me to throw on a movie?”  
  
Red Daughter shook her head. “Right now I just want to talk with my best friend,” she said, scooting closer to Lena.

* * *

If this really was her last night in National City, Red Daughter was determined to not squander it. As the sky outside grew darker, Lena halfheartedly tried to push Kara out the door a few times which she rebuffed gently each time. 

“I’ve been reading this lately,” Red Daughter said, rifling around in her purse, pulling out a large number of snack wrappers, her face reddening with each one before finding what she was looking for. 

It hadn’t just been cakes that Red Daughter had occupied herself while staking out Kara Danvers’s apartment. She had bought several and had found herself getting lost in them, almost forgetting her real mission.  
  
Lena tilted her head slightly to get a better look at the cover, looking puzzled. “ _Gatsby_? Kara, you didn’t drink so much that you forgot we watched the movie, did you?”  
  
“No, of course not,” Red Daughter said, giggling. “I just really, really liked it. If _The Wizard of Oz_ wasn’t already my favorite movie,” she said, careful not to find herself caught in any contradictions. “I think that it would be my favorite.”  
  
“Really? That’s high praise coming from you, seeing as you know _The Wizard of Oz_ by heart.”  
  
Red Daughter nodded. “Yes it is,” she agreed. “But it is _so_ romantic. Everything seems almost magical.” _Like your place,_ she thought.  
  
“More magic than Oz?”  
  
She nodded. “And the first time I watched it was with you, Lena.” The smile on her face faded somewhat. “I will never forget that. Ever.”  
  
Lena blushed, “You didn’t have any wine on the way over here, did you?” she muttered.  
  
Red Daughter was already in the process of pulling out another from her purse and didn’t notice Lena’s change in demeanor. “But this one has been growing on me.”  
  
Lena’s eyes lit up, surprised. “ _The Wild Irish Girl?_ It’s one of my favorites! I must have read it dozens of times when I was younger.” She stood up, crossing the room and scanning the bookshelf that lay along the wall and pulled out a book, returning to the couch, sitting much closer to Red Daughter, and holding it out to her. “It’s a first edition. Incredibly rare.”  
  
“You’ve read it too?” Red Daughter beamed, feeling her stomach do a nervous little flip as she realized how close the two were sitting now. “I don’t want to ruin it,” she said, waving her hand out in front of her when Lena offered her the book.  
  
“Even you’re not that clumsy, Kara.” She pushed it closer to her, insisting that she take it.  
  
Red Daughter did so, looking nervously back at Lena and carefully opened it. Written in a minuscule script near the top was Lena’s name.  
  
“Aaand I may have written in it, depriving it of any resale value,” Lena said, looking embarrassed.  
  
Red Daughter giggled. “I would pay more,” she teased.  
  
“You’re an awful liar, you know that?”  
  
Red Daughter’s eyes sparkled but she remained silent, carefully turning a few of the pages. She tilted her head slightly to the side, reading a few lines before looking over at Lena. “What makes it one of your favorites?”  
  
“My mother gave it to me. My _real_ mother.” Lena’s face fell, hating that she even needed to make that distinction. “It was one of the few possessions that I was able to take with me when I was adopted. I wasn’t a Luthor in Lillian’s eyes. She told me as such over and over like she was worried I might actually forget, but she hated to be reminded of it. I knew that if she ever found out how much it meant to me or that it had belonged to my mother, she would have had it destroyed, so I hid it, but I knew that wasn’t any guarantee that she wouldn’t find it. Hiding things is par for the course in the Luthor household. I was so worried that one day I would come home and find it missing, I read it as often as I could. I can still probably recite most of it from memory.” She laughed. “She never found it though, or if she did she never took it.”  
  
“Lena…”  
  
“Sorry… No better way to kill the mood than taking a walk down memory lane.”  
  
“No, I’m glad you told me, I just... “ Red Daughter shook her head, closing the book gently and placing a hand over Lena’s. “I wish I had been there to protect you.”  
  
Lena’s expression softened and she giggled. “If there’s anything Lillian is scared of it is a scathing article written by a determined journalist.” Lena took the book from her, opening it to the middle and running a finger along with the page. “I always identified with Horatio.”  
  
Red Daughter gawked at Lena, surprised.  
  
“Did you think I would identify more with Glorvina?” Lena joked, wrinkling her nose. Just because I’m rich it doesn’t mean I automatically identify with every princess. Horatio disguised who he really was so that he could learn more about his new surroundings. I did the same when I was adopted and in a way, I did the same thing when I came to National City.” _And I met you like Horatio met Glorvina…_ _  
__  
_ Red Daughter nodded. She had been drawn into the book for the very same reason… Alex had wanted her to stay here to absorb the culture, to see with her own eyes the evils of the country but after her short stay here, much like Horatio, she had begun to enjoy her time here and if Alex was right, she had fallen in love with a princess…  
  
“I had no idea it was so late.” Lena’s gaze had drifted from the book in her hands to the clock over the television. “You just come back from vacation and I keep you up all night talking. I can drive you back unless you want to catch a cab-”  
  
“I,” Red Daughter interrupted, looking at the clock, amazed to see it was already well past two in the morning. She cleared her throat, secretly grateful that Lena had taken the book from her. She had clenched her hands into fists and would have crushed anything she had still been holding onto. “I want to stay. If you don’t mind me sleeping on your couch.”  
  
Lena’s eyes went wide and she stood up, walking back to the bookshelf and returning the book before answering, keeping her back turned. “Of course you can stay, but I very much mind you sleeping on the couch, Kara.”  
  
“I know,” Red Daughter said quietly. “We could just share the bed. Sleep together,” she said, thinking that clarified things.  
  
“Those are _not_ the same thing,” Lena muttered, touching her cheek with her hand and was not at all surprised to feel how hot it was. Of course, we can share the bed, Kara. If you don’t mind.”  
  
“I’m the one who offered,” Red Daughter reminded her.  
  
“Fair enough.”

  
  
Lena had insisted on changing in the bathroom, wearing a near-identical pair of flannel pajamas that she had smoothed unnecessarily in the mirror before stepping out from the bathroom and letting Kara scoot by her to do the same. _I can't believe you wore your nightie to bed with Kara,_ she thought, still not able to completely forgive herself for the night before.  
  
When the door closed, Lena sat down on the edge of the bed, scooting as far to the edge as she could, sliding beneath the blankets and turning on her side, stretching out her arm to confirm that she had made herself as small as possible. _Good,_ she told herself. _No nightie and no spooning. No itty bitty boxes rearing their ugly head and confusing her._

“We match.”  
  
Lena sat up and nodded. “You are a little taller than me, aren’t you?” she said, noticing the tiny bit of bare ankle that was showing.  
  
“But they’re comfortable,” Red Daughter assured her, sliding into bed beside her and sliding down into it until only her head was poking out.  
  
“Very,” Lena agreed, smiling and reaching for the light, plunging the two of them into darkness. She meant to wait until Kara fell asleep before trying to drift off herself, not that she liked her chances of that. Her mind was always busy but this was not the kind of busy that she was able to box away.  
  
She had just closed her eyes when she felt movement on her side, instinctively trying to push herself closer to the edge of the bed, even though she was in danger of falling off. She felt Kara’s hand brush against hers, withdraw as if she had touched something hot and then return, her hand resting on top of hers, her fingers interlacing with Lena's.  
  
“Kara…”  
  
“Do you feel weird?” Red Daughter asked.  
  
“No,” Lena said after a short silence. “Not at all.”  
Lena heard Kara moving under the covers before she felt her drawing closer to her, pressing against her. She turned on her side again, guiding Kara’s arm around her as she pressed up tight against her, feeling her heartbeat ramp up to what could only be described as a hummingbird flutter, unaware that Red Daughter's was doing the same. 

* * *

  
Red Daughter was the first to wake this time. She would have very much liked to lay there a bit longer but knew that she could not delay the inevitable any longer. As gently as she could, she unwrapped Lena’s arm from around her waist, sliding out of bed and gathering up her clothes, not bothering to actually change.  
  
She opened the bedroom door just enough for her to slide through, lingering there for a moment.  
  
“I think that Alex was right,” Red Daughter said softly. “I think that I love you, Lena Luthor.” She shut the door as quietly as she could, the latch making the faintest of clicking noises as she shut it.  
  
Lena blinked, rolling over onto her back, hearing the apartment door open and close, staring straight up at the ceiling and watched a slat of sunshine slowly creep across it. She stayed that way for quite some time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those that don't know, here's a short summary of 'The Wild Irish Girl'. I thought that both Lena and Red Daughter would be drawn to such a story as it describes the both of them in different ways.
> 
> This magnificent Victorian romance, penned in 1806 after the Act of Union, is just a bit symbolic. The story involves a young Englishman, Horatio, a kind of prodigal son who is banished to his aristocratic father's Irish estates.
> 
> Once there, Horatio visits the wild west Connaught coast and discovers not only a beautiful physical landscape but a beautiful princess, Glorvina, and the elements of the Gaelic culture he once scorned. Our hero assumes a disguise in order to learn the language and absorb the ancient history of the people he is growing to love. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy the chapter as much I enjoyed writing it.


	6. Plumerias

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Red Daughter tries to put her mission first, Kara finds herself blindsided by what her other me has been up to while she's been on vacation.

  
Red Daughter could have flown back to her apartment. She had gotten good at looking for cameras and prying eyes before takeoff, but even with the streets empty and several alleys that she could have ducked into, she had chosen to walk. She liked the sound her shoes made against the pavement, the way she could meander ever so slightly to walk through the patches of sunlight on the sidewalk. It was something that she would miss if she returned to Kaznia. To the bunker. It had once felt so safe when all she could remember was a name and a face, she only hoped that it would feel that way again. 

She had been so deep in thought that she hadn’t realized that she was already home. She stuck her hand into her purse fishing around for the key. Her fingers grazed a few snack wrappers and spare bills before finding her key and sliding it into the lock. 

It was amazing how quickly her opinion of the apartment had changed since moving in. The apartment was still essentially the same, a bit too sterile for Red Daughter’s taste but she had arranged the furniture a bit more to her liking and had even bought a tiny plant that she had placed on the windowsill in the kitchen. 

Setting her purse down on the table she took out her copy of The Wild Irish Girl, rifling through the pages, allowing her thoughts to drift to Lena for a time before walking to her bedroom and leaning over the small table beside the bed. She hadn’t touched the note that Alex had left for her that read: Emergencies only. She hadn’t been sure what constituted an emergency before when she had first read the note but she did now. She opened the small drawer and pulled a cellphone from inside. She held her thumb over the power button, watching the screen light up.

  
Alex would have likely preferred to have this conversation in person but Red Daughter was glad that they couldn’t. She didn’t want to see the poorly disguised disappointment on his face when she told him, hearing it in his voice would be enough. 

There was only one number programmed into the contact list. Red Daughter’s finger hovered over the screen before pressing the call button and bringing the phone to her ear. It rang only twice before Alex answered.

“What happened?”

“Kara Danvers returned. She knows.”

Red Daughter could hear the squeak of bedsprings imagining Alex sitting up from a dead sleep, disappointed but not surprised at the news.

“What does she know exactly?”

“That I was there that day in her apartment. Alex told her. I… I failed. I’m sorry.”

There was silence on the other end that to Red Daughter felt like a very long time. She was so sure that Alex was about to scream at her that she still found herself flinching even though he spoke softly. 

“Regrettable but not surprising. If Alex hadn’t told her then Lena would have.”

Red Daughter wasn’t sure if this was Alex simply rolling with the punches or blaming her for putting them in such an inescapable position, maybe both. 

“Should I return to Kaznia?” 

“Return? You’re just getting started.”

“But Kara-”

“Knows that someone or something impersonated her. That’s all. With all the strangeness that National City invites I’m surprised it hasn’t happened before. It just means that we need to be far more careful going forward. She has no idea what we’re planning.”

_Neither do I, Alex._

“This is a setback and an expected one at that. With how aggressively you play chess, I’m surprised how quickly you’re ready to quit.”

“I do not want to quit, I just don’t want to make another mistake.”

“Then don’t,” he said curtly. “Plans haven’t changed. Keeping tabs on Kara Danvers and learning to be her is what you need to focus on right now. Don’t concern yourself with things we have no control over.”

Red Daughter nodded, forgetting for a moment that Alex could not actually see her. “I did not want to disappoint you again…”

“I know you don’t. I wouldn’t have asked you to do this if I didn’t believe you capable of it. Has she told Lena yet?”

“Lena?” Red Daughter cleared her throat, nervously twisting a lock of hair around her finger. “Kara got back so late, I don’t think-”

“Find out for sure. I don’t imagine that she will keep Lena in the dark but it’s not like it would be the first time.” 

What did he mean by that? She opened her mouth to ask him, realizing that Alex had already hung up. Sitting down on the bed, she let out a breath that she hadn’t even realized she had been holding in. 

She didn’t have to go back. Relief washed over her like a wave and she put the cellphone back in the drawer before allowing herself to smile. She wasn’t out of the woods yet. She would have liked nothing more than to crawl back into bed and read but she had a job to do, she only wished she didn’t have to wear a wig to do it.

* * *

“If you ever want to hang up your cape, Kara, you’d make an excellent interrogator at the DEO.” Alex had her head bowed, very close to banging her head against the table, and might have if she thought it would stop Kara from asking more questions.

“Haha.” The breakfast laid out in front of Kara still remained completely untouched, a sure sign that something was definitely wrong. “I’m just a little freaked out that there’s someone out there impersonating me well enough to fool my sister.”

“And we’ll get to the bottom of it, but we don’t have much to go on right now.” 

“And you’re sure she looked just like me?”

“Yes, Kara,” Alex said patiently.

Kara speared a bit of egg onto her fork and pointed it at Alex. “I don’t know why you’re taking this so well.”

“I don’t know, Kara. Maybe it’s because we have J’onn for a friend or maybe because I already told you several times what we’re going to do. We’re-”

“I know, I know. You go to the DEO and see if you can find out anything and I go around and ask everyone else in my life if they’ve seen another me.” 

“Exactly. We’ll figure this out. After breakfast.” Alex had her hands wrapped around her coffee mug, holding it in such a way it looked as if she were trying to drink it through osmosis. “And did you pick a safeword?” 

“I told you not to call it that.”

“Password, then.”

“I don’t know…”

“Swordfish?” Alex suggested, taking a loud sip of coffee and looking over her mug at Kara. 

“Very original.” Kara rolled her eyes and shrugged. “Plumerias,” she said, picking at her food without really eating it. 

“Now that’s original.”

Kara’s cheeks went pink and she focused on buttering her toast. “Glad you think so,” she said, knowing exactly why that particular word had swum in her mind’s eye. It was Lena’s favorite flower. Her office often had at least one sitting on either her desk or the coffee table. Although she couldn’t explain why exactly she was blushing, not that she dwelled on it long, she was far too preoccupied today. 

“I’m going to go because I’m already late but call me when you get any news.”

“And you do the same,” Kara said, pushing her plate away glumly.

Alex’s expression softened and she quickly drank the last dregs of her coffee, setting her mug down before wrapping Kara up in a very tight hug. “Be careful.” 

“You too.” 

“Always.” She strode to the door, halfway out it before she stuck her head back in. “And don’t forget the safeword.”

“Alex, I swear to Rao,” Kara groaned, hearing the door click shut behind Alex. She listened to her footsteps as she moved the food around on her plate a bit. She hoped that Alex was the only one who had a run-in with her, what? Doppelganger? Evil twin? Shapeshifting alien? For now, she would let Alex worry about that while she did her own investigation.

* * *

Kara almost never called ahead when visiting Lena and today was no different, although today was the first time she was dreading the conversation instead of looking forward to it. Nevertheless, when she caught a glimpse of Lena hunched over her desk she found herself smiling, feeling a little more at ease than she had since last night. 

“I’m not interrupting anything important, am I?”

“Never,” Lena said, looking up from her work and beaming at Kara, her eyes meeting Kara’s before darting away like a frightened school of fish. “But especially not today. You would think saving the world would be a lot easier.”

“If anyone can do it, it’s you.”

Lena smiled, running a hand through her hair. “I actually wanted to talk to you, I was going to text you to see if you wanted to get dinner, but you’re here. Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be at work?”

“Uhh, I took the day off. I’m still feeling a little jetlagged,” Kara lied. “But there was actually something I wanted to talk to you about too.”

Lena blushed, clearing her throat. “I thought you might… But do you mind if I go first?” She gestured to her computer. “I just really need to say it before I lose my nerve.”

The worry on Kara’s face faded and she tilted her head to the side, looking inquisitively at Lena. “Of course, I barged in on you, you definitely get the floor. “Shoot.” 

“OK.” Lena took a deep breath, opened her mouth, and stood up, starting to pace. “I know that you probably think that I’ve been overthinking everything lately…”

Everything?

“I know I have. I drove myself crazy thinking you might hate me after everything that happened. And I know I could have just called you or flown out to Smallville and instead I locked myself up in my office and went over L-Corp’s failed time travel research.” Lena winced, knowing just how ridiculous she sounded. “And then you came over last night and-

“Last night?”

“Yeah.”

 _Oh, Rao_. “Lena, I-”

Lena shook her head. “I’m almost done, Kara. And you were so, you. You reassured me the way you always do.” She grinned, locking eyes with Kara for a moment and looking away, continuing to pace. “And this morning, I was awake… I always get up so early. Sleeping more than six hours is out of the ordinary. But, I heard what you said this morning and I don’t expect things to change between us even though I do want them to if you do, but the last thing I want to do is rush you, especially after I practically forced you into bed with me the other night.”

_What? What?!?_

“But I want you to know that I feel the same way about you. I..” Lena let out a breath, feeling supremely vulnerable. The facade she put up was something that Kara had been able to slip past so easily but this was a wall that even Kara had been unable to slip past and one that Lena had refused to bring down until now. Letting that wall down and losing Kara would have broken her irrevocably. The risk was still there but Kara’s confession had given her the nudge she needed to push past that fear. 

“I’ve known it for a long time now.” She was too embarrassed to specify just how long. It hadn’t exactly been love at first sight, that, Lena thought, was something reserved purely for fiction but it had been awfully close… “I just really needed to tell you.” She laughed nervously, looking both relieved and mortified. “But we do not need to talk about that now, or here,” she said, gesturing to her office. “But you wanted to talk to me too. Did you want to tell me or just start babbling like I just did?”

Kara thought that babbling sounded good. She would have been very surprised if when she opened her mouth any sound came out at all. The neat queue of questions she had for Lena had only gotten longer the more Lena talked and now the queue had turned into something resembling a mosh pit. 

  
“I…” Kara can’t quite form the words and could almost cry when she feels her phone vibrate inside her pocket. “Just a minute,” she said. 

“Hello?”

“Kara, did you find out anything, or-”

“What? When?”

“Kara, are you in an elevator?”

“You threw up?”

“What? No! Kara?”

“No, no, I can come over. Just rest until I get there, Alex.”

“Kara? I-”

“And plenty of fluids.” She hung up before Alex could say any more, looking apologetically at Lena. 

“Is Alex alright?”

“I think she caught the flu. She got sent home and she called to see if I could stop by.”

“Oh.” Lena nodded. “Of course.”

“I really do want to talk though, Lena. Can we meet tonight? My place?”

“Sure we can,” Lena said. “Go.” She made a shooing gesture and smiled. “I’ll see you tonight, then?”

“Definitely.” 

“I can’t wait.”

“Oh.” It was Kara’s turn to blush and she took a few steps back towards the door nearly tripping over the couch. “Me too. But, Alex,” she stuttered. “So… Tonight. See you, Lena. Tonight.” She cleared her throat, wondering if her cheeks could possibly get any redder than they felt and excused herself. 

Ducking into an alley not far from L-Corp, Kara took a very quick look around before launching herself into the sky, not caring that her quick takeoff is followed by a sonic boom, hardly even noticing, too wrapped up in trying to digest what Lena had said to her.

She doesn’t notice the woman who had been following her at a distance, the only one to look up when Kara took off into the sky. The woman with tears shining in her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter might be a doozy...


	7. Realizations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Kara wrestles with her feelings, Red Daughter begins to doubt hers.

If not for ice-cream, Kara thought that the absolute best way to get rid of stress was flying. That or singing, although she wasn’t in the mood for either. She had been hoping for that sense of clarity she was so used to when she was flying among the clouds but had only found herself more confused than when she had left L-Corp. It was for the best that she had only picked at her breakfast with the way her stomach was contorting itself into a very good representation of a gordian knot.  
  
She did have enough sense to not land the same way she had taken off, slowing her descent as she approached the DEO, already scanning for Alex, not too surprised to find her looking upward and doing the same.  
  
Before she had even landed, Alex’s hand reached for hers, grasping it tightly. Kara didn’t realize just how desperately she needed that anchor. She was still spiraling but the descent had slowed somewhat.  
  
“Supergirl, what happened?”  
  
“Not here.” The last place she wanted to talk was smack dab in the center of the DEO. Kara jerked her head towards the exit, striding off impossibly fast, muttering under her breath, trying to find the best place to try and begin. _The part where the person disguised as me spent the night with Lena or the part where Lena told me she loved me?_ Turning around, she expected to see Alex following close behind and was shocked to see how slow she appeared to be walking.  
  
“Oh come on.” Rising a few inches off the ground, Kara flew backward, scooping Alex up into a fireman’s carry, ignoring her protests as she put as much distance between them and the DEO, finally touching down in an abandoned lot dozens of miles away. Kara let Alex wiggle off her shoulder before beginning to pace.  
  
“Kara, what the hell?!” Alex turned on her heel, looking around, one of her hands reaching up to touch her hair which was now a far cry from how it had looked when she had left the house this morning.  
  
“You were walking too slow.”  
  
“Too slow? Did you ever stop to think that you were walking too fast? And where are we?” Alex turned on her heel, examining Kara closely. “Password.”  
  
“What?”  
  
“The safeword.”  
  
“Oh, Rao. I told you not to call it that, especially now,” Kara hissed.  
  
“I just-”  
  
“Plumerias, plumerias!”  
  
“I had to check. The Kara I know isn’t the type to throw their sister over their shoulder like a sack of flour.”  
  
“I’m sorry, Alex. I just… I don’t know where to start.”  
  
“That bad?”  
  
Kara nodded.  
  
“Start from the beginning then.”

“OK,” Kara said, forcing herself to take a deep breath. “I went to go see Lena, make sure my impostor hadn’t paid her a visit too.”  
  
“And they did,” Alex guessed, already knowing the answer.  
  
“Yes, but I didn’t even get a chance to ask her about it. She said she had something she wanted to tell me, and she looked so nervous…” Kara trailed off, her cheeks feeling very hot as she began to pace again.  
  
“Lena’s okay? They didn't try to hurt her, did they?"

"No, I don't think so."

"You didn't make sure?"

Kara bit her lip, shaking her head. How could she not make sure that Lena was okay? It should have been the first thing out of her mouth and it probably would have been if she hadn't been completely blindsided by what Lena had told her… 

"When you talked to her, Alex, you're sure that she didn't say anything strange."

Alex had fielded the same exact question no less than a dozen times over breakfast this morning but there was no sign of annoyance in her voice when she answered. "No. I told you that she kind of pushed me out the door but I just thought you had a flight to catch." 

Kara nodded. She pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. "Right… because she spent a lot more time with Lena."

"How much more?"

Kara opened her mouth, closing it and shaking her head adamantly. "I can't believe they would… If I get my hands on them, I'll…"

"Kara, you're losing me. Did Lena not realize it wasn't you?" 

She had wondered the same thing herself. Lena was so observant, so careful... There were times that Kara felt Lena was so close to realizing that Kara Danvers and Supergirl were one and the same, she half-expected her to confront her with it over lunch some days. How could she not know it wasn't her? 

"No, she didn't. They met more than once. At least twice."

"You didn't ask how many times they met?" Alex looked surprised. "If there's anyone you should be talking to right now, it's her, Kara. We need as many details as we can get, try to nail down a timeline, figure out what they hope to gain by impersonating you."

"Lena told me she loves me," Kara blurted out. Once again her hands flew to her face, her face beet red as she struggled with what to say next. "Or I think she did." Kara could be incredibly dense but even she hadn't been able to do the proper mental gymnastics to even try and convince herself that Lena could possibly mean anything else. 

"But I must have said it first, impostor me, because Lena said she felt the same way about me. And if you hadn’t called when you did I don’t know what I would have done.” 

Kara stopped pacing, looking at Alex, expecting to see her look shocked, maybe even mortified at the idea of what her double had gotten up to, which made the dull surprise on her face stand out even more.

"You don't look all that shocked," Kara said, letting out a mirthless laugh, wishing she had been able to take it half as well. 

Alex looked back at her apologetically. "Well…"

"Well, what?"

"Nothing," Alex said a little too quickly. She withered under the glare that Kara shot at her and gave a nervous little shrug. "I guess because I'm not all that shocked. Not about the impostor but the-"

"The what?" 

"The," Alex leaned closer, "you know, the other thing." She arched an eyebrow, letting Kara fill in the blanks. 

"The love?" Kara spluttered after studying Alex's face for a few moments. "I-" Kara began to pace again, turning fast enough each time she changed directions to make her cape whip around her, muttering under her breath. 

"Come on, Kara. Use your words."

"We're best friends," Kara countered. "Of course, I love her, but... What do you mean you’re not shocked?”  
  
Alex sighed. “I just mean that it wouldn’t be the strangest thing to happen in National City if you and Lena-”  
  
“Don’t say-”  
  
“Get together.”  
  
“Where is this coming from?” Kara squinted at Alex, stepping closer to her. “Maybe I should have asked you for the password because clearly, you are not my sister.”  
  
“You said that your impostor met Lena, twice, maybe more? You weren’t in Smallville that long.”  
  
“Yeah, so what?”  
  
“Lena’s the smartest person I know and one of the most careful, especially with her heart. I don’t know how she feels about you, although I’ve had my suspicions. But that’s not the point I’m trying to make,” she said quickly, wanting to stop Kara from interrupting. “But even if fake you confessed their love for Lena, she must think that your feelings came from a real place and not just out of the blue.”  
  
Kara knew that what Alex was saying made sense, even if it didn’t do a thing to placate her or the panic that was beginning to feel like it may just be something permanent she would need to learn to deal with.  
  
“More importantly, I’ve seen the way you look at her when you think she isn’t looking.”  
  
“Ridiculous,” Kara scoffed, trying very hard to hide how the corners of her mouth kept twitching upward.  
  
"And you talk about her all the time. Not to mention how Lena filled your office full to bursting with flowers. Even J’onn-”  
  
“Do you two talk about Lena and me behind my back?” Kara asked, sounding scandalized. “And there’s nothing to talk about!”  
  
“Plumerias,” Alex said, seemingly out of the blue.  
  
“I know it’s you, Alex, I was just teasing.”  
  
“Why did you pick that word?”  
  
“Because swordfish is stupid,” she said, looking away from Alex pointedly trying in vain to hide just how pink her cheeks had become.  
  
“Not because those are Lena’s favorite flowers. It had nothing to do with that?”  
  
“I didn’t even know they were-”  
  


“Oh come on, Kara.” Her tone softened and she reached out to catch Kara’s arm. “It’s just us.” She looked behind her and gestured around them to show just how true that was. “Have you never even considered it before?”  
  
Kara crossed her arms over her chest, nibbling on her bottom lip. If anyone other than Alex had asked her she would have had no trouble vehemently denying it but not only did it feel useless to try and lie to her sister, she felt that Alex might be the only one she _could_ tell. “I don’t know. Maybe once or twice.” _A few dozen times,_ she thought, remembering the rather vivid dream she had a month ago, the one where she had been carrying Lena bridal style over the city… She didn’t need to consult a dream journal to suss out what that one had meant. “Maybe a lot more than that.”  
  
Alex smiled sadly, knowing all too well the turmoil that Kara was going through and wished that she had tried broaching the subject sooner. “Do you want things to change between you and Lena?”  
  
“I don’t know what I want,” Kara admitted. “I just know that I can’t hurt her, Alex. I can’t. I know that I’m already doing that by not telling her about this.” She pointed to herself. She swallowed a lump in her throat that felt as if it had been steadily growing in size for a while now. “If things ever did change between us, I would need to tell Lena the truth and I don’t know if I can do that.”  
  
“Kara…”  
  
“She’ll hate me.” Kara had felt the tears coming but was surprised all the same at the suddenness with which the dam broke. The tears had begun to fall before she had time to even try and stem them. She felt Alex’s arms close around her tightly and Kara lay her head against Alex’s shoulder. “I’ve tried telling her so many times Alex, and every time I’ve been too afraid to go through with it because I’m so afraid that she’ll never forgive me. That I’ll never get to tell her how I feel about her.”

“She just told you that she loves you,” Alex reminded her gently. “I think that’s as good a chance as any.”  
  
Kara let out a nervous chuckle, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “Because she thinks that I said it first, but it wasn’t me it was-”  
  
“Something that _I_ will figure out. And while I do you need to talk to Lena.”  
  
“I know I do. I’m meeting her tonight. I did that right before rushing out of her office like I’d seen a ghost.”  
  
“Whatever you do decide, Kara, I’m here, I’ll always be here.” She blinked back a few tears, taking Kara by the shoulders and stepping back to look at her. “Anytime you need me.”  
  
“I know that,” Kara said.  
  
“I know you do. Coming out was so hard for me, Kara. I spent years running from it, trying to pretend that I didn’t feel the way I did. If I didn’t have you, I don’t know… I don’t know where I would be right now. I just need you to know that I’ll be there for you.”  
  
Kara had only just gotten control of herself again and nodded hurriedly not trusting herself to say anything without running the risk of the dam breaking again, holding onto Alex tighter, hoping that she knew her well enough to know just how much it meant to hear her say that.  
  


* * *

  
The one thing that Red Daughter had not had in her purse had been tissues. She had tried to blink them back at first, looking skyward as she meandered down the street with no particular destination but it didn’t take long for her to process just what she had heard at L-Corp and that had made the tears fall too hard and too fast for her to hold them back. An older woman had stopped her on the street and pressed a small packet of tissues into her hands, patting her arm before setting off again without saying a word. While she dabbed at her eyes, she thought about trying to catch up to the woman, to thank her.  
  
Any other day such kindness would have vexed her. She had seen enough ugliness since coming to America but she had also seen so much warmth. But all she could do was replay the conversation she had overheard over and over in her head. It should have made her happy to hear Lena say those things… If only she had been speaking to her. But she hadn’t. She had been speaking to Kara Danvers.  
  


The thought sent another shard of ice into her heart and she slumped a bit further down in her seat. She had returned to the cafe and taken her regular seat without even realizing it. It made sense. This was her mission. To spy on Kara Danvers and she already knew that she would return here. It was where she had asked Lena to meet her, after all.  
  
 _Kara Danvers is your mission,_ she thought, scolding herself. _Not Lena Luthor. She doesn’t even know who you really are…_

The clink of a plate being set down in front of her startled her out of her head and she looked up, surprised to see someone there.  
  
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” the young man who was normally behind the register said. His apron hung loosely around him and as if only just realizing it himself, he cinched it tighter around his waist.  
  
“I didn’t order this,” Red Daughter muttered. She had ordered a black coffee before sitting down that still remained untouched.  
  
“It’s on the house. Free,” he added when he caught sight of the confusion on Red Daughter’s face. “You always order cake when you come in here and it looks like you could use a pick-me-up.”  
  
“I-” Red Daughter’s expression softened and she nodded. “Thank you.”  
  
“Sorry to bother you.” He tilted his head to get a better look at the book on the table. “ _The Wild Irish Girl_? Is it any good?”  
  
“Yes, very good. Beautiful even, but it’s just a story.”  
  
“Of course… If you need anything else,” he said, jerking his thumb back towards the counter before departing.  
  
 _Just a story,_ she told herself. _Not real. It could never have been real. Never._  
  
The finality of that thought is painful enough to draw fresh blood. She reached clumsily for her bag, rooting around inside for a fresh tissue, tears beginning to fall in earnest, some of them dropping onto the piece of cake laid out in front of her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Oh... I made myself sad." -Professor Farnsworth


	8. Change of plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara is ready to lay all her cards out on the table with Lena if she gets the chance to

After dropping Alex off at the DEO, Kara was relieved to find that her stomach had tentatively begun to untangle itself. She wasn’t out of the woods just yet, if anything she realized just how deep in it she was. There was so much that she needed to tell Lena, one evening hardly felt like enough. Days would be a good start, weeks would be even better, and best of all would be years.    
  


It’s far from the first time that Kara’s had such thoughts. Daydreams might have been a more appropriate term, but it was the first time she had allowed herself to dive into them so completely during the day. Admitting that she had feelings for Lena to Alex had been difficult but it had been even harder admitting it to herself. Doing that had brought down a wall in her heart that she hadn’t even known had existed. It was true that the circumstances of finding out that Lena had feelings for her were less than ideal. Kara had always imagined a candlelit dinner or a moonlight walk… If the forecast hadn’t predicted rain for that evening she might have arranged for just such a stroll but she could do dinner, or she could at least  _ order  _ dinner, which she thought was the next best thing.    


* * *

  
Kara didn’t need to use her X-ray vision to know who it was on the other side of the door, she recognized the knock immediately. “Coming!” she called, setting aside the book she had picked up in a fruitless attempt to make the time pass faster.    
  
She opened the door, finding herself staring at a bouquet of flowers big enough to almost completely obscure Lena’s head.    
  
“I made a quick stop before coming over,” Lena said, poking her head out from behind them.    
  
“They’re beautiful, but you didn’t have to do that, Lena.”   
  
“A welcome back present,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “Can I come in?”   
  
“Of course you can.” Kara was embarrassed but not all that shocked to feel her cheeks already growing hot.”Let me just find a vase. Or two for the flowers.”

  
“How’s Alex feeling?”   
  
“Alex? A lot better, I think,” Kara called from the other room. She had finally found a big enough vase for her flowers, placing them inside and carrying them back out with her to place on the table. She knew that right now, Alex was still at the DEO, trying to pin down a lead on her imposter. Maybe after she was able to pick Lena’s brain they might have a better idea of just where to start looking but that would need to come later. Kara still wasn’t sure if she was going about things in the right order but she needed to tell Lena how she felt before anything else.    
  


“I’m sorry I rushed out like that, Lena. I really should have stayed at least a little longer.”   
  
“I’m here now,” Lena said, patting the couch cushion beside her.   
  
Nodding shyly, Kara sat down beside her. There was that familiar feeling in her stomach that she sometimes got while flying. It was something she associated with a very sudden drop or change in elevation and of course, being within close proximity to Lena Luthor.   
  
“I am curious though, about what you wanted to talk to me about, although I think I have a pretty good idea… I have  _ very _ good intuition.” Lena’s eyes sparkled but there was something hidden beneath her playful expression, a lingering hint of doubt that Kara might have misspoken or perhaps wanted to take what she said back.   
  
“So much. I almost don’t know where to start.” Kara shook her head, scooting closer so that her and Lena’s knees were touching. “Well, that’s not exactly true. I know where I want to start.” She reached out to take Lena’s hands in her own, delighted when Lena turned hers upward to meet them. She could feel the color rising in her cheeks like an old-fashioned thermometer and might have been a bit more embarrassed if she didn’t catch sight of the same pink flush in Lena’s cheeks.    
  
“I love you.” The words tumbled out more clumsy than she had envisioned and if Lena asked her to repeat herself she wouldn’t have been very surprised. “I should have told you back at L-Corp, should have told you a thousand times before that Lena…”    
  
In hindsight it’s so easy to see just how many opportunities that Kara had let slip through her fingers to tell Lena not only that she was in love with her but that she was Supergirl.   
  
Lena had always toed the line expertly between a realist and a pessimist. Even with all evidence pointing to the contrary, a very small part of her had worried that she had somehow misread everything, that she would wind up looking like a fool while Kara let her down as gently as possible, reaffirming their friendship and nothing more. Embarrassed that she ever allowed herself to think those things, she let out a nervous chuckle, looking down at her feet and catching sight of their hands joined together in her lap.   
  
“I love you too,” Lena whispered.    
  
Kara could feel her mouth stretching into a wide grin that she tried to hide by turning her head to the side. She would have very much liked to bask in the moment a while longer, maybe pull Lena closer to her… But there was so much more she needed to say, so much more to unpack…   
  
“How long?”   
  
How long what?” Kara asked.   
  
Lena giggled, shaking her head she gave Kara’s knee a little nudge with her own.   
  
“How long have you known you loved me?”    
  
_ Who the hell was I fooling?  _ Kara thought, marveling at just how beautiful Lena was when she smiled. “Asking the tough questions,” Kara said, only half-joking.    
  
“I did learn from the best,” Lena said, giving Kara’s leg another playful bump, a mixture of pride and admiration on her face.   
  


It might have been hard for Kara to say so out loud, but she had no trouble recalling the moment that she had realized that she had fallen in love with Lena. “You probably don’t remember it but I stopped by for lunch at L-Corp. I bought Chinese and your secretary gave me a look when I walked past like she was watching me throw myself to the lions. You were hunched over your computer, working and you looked so engrossed in what you were doing.”   
  
“Mad,” Lena interjected. “I looked mad.”   
  
“I didn’t say that,” Kara said. She held up her left hand and brought her thumb and index finger close together. “ _ Maybe _ you looked the tiniest bit upset. I didn’t want to interrupt you and I thought about leaving the food with your secretary and rescheduling, but before I could, you looked up and saw me staring at you and your face just lit up. I’d never seen someone so happy to see me and it took me a few minutes to realize that I made the exact same face whenever you came to visit me and I knew.” Kara shook her head looking embarrassed. “I should have told you then if I was a little braver-”   
  
“Braver,” Lena repeated, smiling to herself. “You’re the bravest person I know, Kara.  _ You  _ make me braver…” She leaned closer before she could lose her nerve, her hand sliding up Kara’s wrist and tugging her closer. “Hi,” she said breathlessly, wanting to say more but not trusting her courage to hold.  _ We can talk later, _ Lena told herself as she wrapped one arm around the small of Kara’s back. She smiled shyly at Kara, relishing their closeness before leaning forward and pressing her lips gently against Kara’s.    
  
Fireworks. It was the only way that Kara could describe the emotions that she felt rise up in her. How many times had she imagined kissing Lena? Dozens, maybe hundreds of times? Never in her wildest imaginings could she have known it would be this wonderful.   
  
“Tell me again,” Lena mumbled, moving her head just far enough back to break the kiss while still keeping their lips impossibly close together.   
  
“I love you.”    
  
“I love you too.” 

* * *

  
_ BOOM! _   
  
The sound is one that Kara herself is incredibly familiar with. It is the sound of a jet taking off, the sound of a Kryptonian that has forgotten the one thing that Alex had stressed above all else. To be careful. Red Daughter no longer saw the need. She did not need to be careful because she was done. She had seen enough, had heard enough, what could she possibly gain by staying?    
  
“What the hell was that?” the young cashier asked, looking around a bit before locking eyes with a blonde woman at the counter.   
  
“No clue,” she said, looking wholly unconcerned.    
  
“This city,” he muttered, returning his attention to his phone.    
  
The nonchalant expression on the woman’s face faded quickly, replaced by one of annoyance. She fished around in her pocket and pulled out a cellphone, holding it to her ear and waited.    
  
“We have a problem,” Eve said, her eyes trained on the tablet hidden in her lap. The angle the camera had in Kara’s apartment is a poor one but it had captured enough. “Your little birdie went green with envy and flew the coop.”   
  
“Who would have thought,” Lex said, looking at the footage of Kara’s apartment alongside a CCTV feed of the alley that Red Daughter had chosen to duck into before flying off. “Get rid of the security footage in the alley and keep an eye on my dear sister.”   
  
“What are you going to do?”   
  
“Improvise,” Lex said, ending the call.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up being a bit shorter than the others but the upcoming chapter should be twice as long. I wanted a bit more fluff before the inevitable angst that must follow.


	9. You'd have to be blind not to see it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara has what she believes is a much-needed heart-to-heart with Lena while Lex does the same with Red Daughter

It wasn’t the sonic boom that had broken Kara and Lena apart but the insistent knocking at the door that came ten minutes later. 

“We could just not answer the door?” Kara suggested. Her forehead was pressed against Lena’s, her voice just barely above a whisper.  
  
“Kara Danvers, are you choosing me over food?”   
  
“In a heartbeat.”   
  
“If you don’t pay it comes out of my paycheck,” a voice called through the door.   
  
“We should-”   
  
“Yeah,” Kara said, running a hand through her hair while she stood up on shaky legs. “But after?”   
  
Lena gave her a shy little nod.   
  
_We talk, Kara. But after we talk,”_ she told herself. “Coming,” she yelled.   
  


Opening the door, Kara wasn’t all that shocked to see the delivery driver glaring out at her from under his helmet. “Sorry,” she said and handed him her credit card.  
  
The driver glanced over at Lena and then back to Kara, sliding her card into the reader before handing her back a receipt along with a large bag containing the food she had ordered. “Enjoy your meal,” he called over his shoulder, muttering to himself as he traipsed down the hallway towards the elevator.   
  
“Table or coffee table?” Lena asked, holding up two plates.   
  
“Table. I’m running out of pillows that I can use to hide all the soy sauce stains I can’t get out.”   
  
“Clumsy,” Lena teased. 

“You’re not going to get any arguments from me.”  
  
“ _Very_ good to know,” Lena said, setting a plate down in front of Kara. She caught Kara’s eye, almost looking as if she might lean into another kiss before standing up straight and busying herself by folding a napkin into a neat little triangle.   
  
_Oh, Rao._ Kara had daydreamed more extensively about Lena than she would have ever liked to admit but this side of Lena was not one she had ever expected to see. _Flirty Lena. Focus,_ she thought, scolding herself. 

She had piled up far too many excuses for not telling Lena that she was Supergirl, that in her heart of hearts had never rung completely true. She did want to protect her but the fear of losing her because of her dishonesty had slowly eclipsed her desire to keep Lena safe. She had been pulled into Kara’s orbit all the same, secret-keeper or not and she deserved to know.  
  
“So…” Lena said, arranging the food in the middle of the table before sitting down. “Would this be considered a date in the Kara Danvers guide to relationships?” She had very nearly said ‘love’ and veered off at the last possible moment.   
  
Kara nodded earnestly, sitting down and scooting up closer to the table. “Definitely,” she said. She twisted a lock of hair around her index finger. “But there’s something else I need to tell you before we-”   
  
“Go back over there?” Lena asked, pointing to the couch.   
  
_I sure hope so._ _  
_ _  
_

* * *

  
  
“I can’t believe it,” Lena said flatly. She had been holding a half-eaten potsticker between her chopsticks for the last ten minutes. She regarded it for a moment, not remembering a time that she had ever felt less hungry.   
  
“I know,” Kara said. “I can’t either but I _was_ in Smallville and Alex saw her too, here actually.”   
  
“Did Alex…” Lena shook her head, her cheeks crimson. “I am such a fool. And I was so convinced she was you, Kara. Some friend I am.”   
  
“Because they wanted you to think it was me. It’s not your fault Lena. She tricked Alex too.”   
  
Lena made a face that made it quite clear that did nothing to make her feel any better. “And we…” Oh, God. We slept together.”   
  
Lena seemed to realize how it must have sounded to Kara and shook her head furiously. “Actually slept, just sleeping, not _that_ .” Her brow furrowed. “But I don’t understand…”   
  
“Neither do I. But we will, I promise.”   
  
“Not that. I mean, of course, that, but that morning… I just barely heard you.” Lena made a face, shutting her eyes tightly. “Her,” she corrected. “She said, ‘I think Alex was right, I do love you, Lena Luthor.”   
  
“Did she?” Kara’s face flushed.   
  
“Yes,” Lena said, worry etched on her face. “I don’t even think she knew I was awake, so why say it at all?”   
  
“I’m not sure,” Kara said carefully. If the imposter had wanted to cause trouble for Kara, there were a million ways they could have gone about it.   
  
“And they’re the reason I confessed to you.” Lena shut her eyes, hiding her face in her hands. “I am so stupid.”   
  
“You are _not_ stupid, Lena.” Kara had already strode around the table, kneeling down beside Lena. “I don’t know who’s been masquerading as me or what they want but if there is one good thing to come out of all of this, it’s this.” Kara reached up and used her finger to coax Lena’s head up just enough for her to gaze back at her.   
  
“Hi,” Kara said.   
  
Lena chuckled nervously. “Hi. How do I know that I’m really talking to you and not your equally attractive doppelganger.” She was still shaken but Kara had calmed her like she always seemed to do when she needed it and so effortlessly too.   
  
“Oh! Well, Alex and I came up with sa- password. I really hope we don’t need it for long but until we know for sure…”   
  
“A password?” Lena arched an eyebrow looking both amused and more than a tad impressed. “What is it? Do you need to whisper it to me?”   
  
“I don’t think… I mean, it’s probably for the best if I do.” She gestured to the empty apartment, not knowing that the direction she had gestured did in fact hide a small camera that Lex had the foresight to install before.   
  
Kara leaned close enough to whisper in Lena’s ear, her hand reaching out, searching for Lena’s hand. She smiled when she felt Lena’s hand brush against hers meeting her halfway. “Plumerias.”   
  
Lena blushed. “How did you ever settle on that password?”   
  
“Just kind of came to me,” Kara teased.   
  
“Mmm-hmm. Just came to you?”   
  
“Something like that.” Kara smiled warmly. “I’m sure Alex will find a lead and we’ll get to the bottom of this but until then, maybe don’t let me into your office without vetting me first?”   
  
“Are we going to need to get walkie talkies?”   
  
“I _think_ the password should be enough... But there’s one more thing I need to tell you, Lena.” She held up her index finger.   
  
“If you tell me that there are two impostors running around or an evil twin, I’ll-”   
  
“No, nothing like that.” Kara chuckled nervously. _Rao, this is so much worse,_ she thought. “I haven’t been entirely honest with you. I…” Kara blinked, taking a few steadying breaths. She would not let herself cry, not now and hopefully not after either.   
  
“What is it, Kara?” Lena’s expression had softened, worry stretching over her face that had nothing to do with Kara’s impostor. “Whatever it is-”   
  


“I’m Supergirl.” She reached for her glasses, folding them closed and setting them on the table alongside the food that they had already abandoned. She could not look at Lena, not when she was so sure that she would see only hurt in her eyes. She felt a gentle tug as Lena pulled her hands free from her own, sure that her world would start crumbling around her. “Lena…”  
  
“I already know.”   
  
“What?” Kara asked. She looked up at Lena, her eyes wide.   
  
“I’ve known for a long time now,” Lena said, her voice just above a whisper.   
  
“How? Kara asked, flabbergasted.   
  
“Well,” Lena said in that same quiet tone. “Kara Danvers and Supergirl do look remarkably similar, save for those,” Lena said and pointed to the pair of glasses on the table. “The day that Supergirl, you,” she said and pointed at Kara. “The day that you caught me. Saved me from being pushed off the balcony.”   
  
“I remember…”   
  
Lena laughed, her gaze still focused completely on her feet. “Getting coffee with Kara Danvers? You’re a terrible liar, you know that? I could always give you a few pointers if you wanted…”   
  
“Why didn’t you say anything?”   
  
“I could ask you the same thing,” Lena said. She tried to force a smile and only mustered a lopsided grin that quickly turned into a frown. “Because I’m a-”   
  
“Because I was afraid,” Kara interrupted. “Afraid that you wouldn’t forgive me for lying to you for so long. I was so afraid that you would hate me. But that didn’t give me the right to be so selfish. To hurt you, just like everyone else.” Kara turned away, under the guise of brushing a lock of hair from her face, trying to dab at the corner of her eyes without Lena seeing. “I told myself that I didn’t deserve to confess my feelings to you when I was hiding something so big from you. But I knew that if I did tell you, I could lose you and I couldn’t risk that. So I convinced myself that having you in my life, even if it could only be as a friend was better than not having you at all.”   
  
“Do you know how I knew it was you, Kara?” Lena’s head was hung and the irregular rise and fall of her shoulders made it plain to see that she had begun to cry too.   
  
“The coffee,” Kara said listlessly. She wanted to reach out, to envelop her tightly into a hug but was too afraid that Lena would pull away from that too.   
  
“No,” Lena said, a muted tone of amusement in her voice. “That made me _more_ sure, but I already knew.” Lena’s hands had clenched into two impossibly tight fists. She opened one of them and reached out and brushed her hand against Kara’s arm. “I knew your touch. How could you think I wouldn’t?” She looked up, her green eyes searched out and gazed into Kara’s. To Kara, they looked like emeralds glittering out from under very clear water.   
  
“I knew your touch, just as I knew that you would never hurt me.” Her hand closed around Kara’s arm and pulled her closer, her head coming to rest against the crook of Kara’s neck. “I knew you must have a reason for not telling me, even if I didn’t understand it. I wondered if it was because of who I am that you couldn’t trust me with your secret.I was waiting for you to say something… Anything…”   
  
_How could you ever think that?_ Kara wondered, even though she already knew the answer. How could Lena’s mind not leap to the worst possible scenario considering who had lied to her? Knowing that Lena had been made to carry around that doubt, that hurt made Kara’s heartache, feeling as if it were close to being wrenched clean from her chest. “I was wrong, Lena. I… I’m so sorry if I could-”

  
“Promise me that you’ll never hurt me,” Lena whispered, so low that anyone but Kara would have struggled to make out.   
  
“I promise, Lena.” Her voice trembled as she pulled Lena tight to her, no longer attempting to hide the tears that were streaming down her face, just relieved that Lena let herself be pulled this time. “I will never ever hurt you, Lena.   
  
Lena shuddered against her shoulder and Kara felt her nod before she moved her head back, blinking back tears as they gazed back at one another. She stood up slowly, the fingers of her right hand interlacing with Kara’s. She gave a small tug and led Kara back to the couch. “Hold me,” she whispered, biting her lip.   
  
Kara sat down beside her, one arm wrapping around Lena’s waist pulling her tight to her.   
  
“Kiss me,” Lena whispered. Her hand crept along Kara’s forearm, her fingertips gliding up and along her bicep.   
  
She did. 

* * *

  
Red Daughter had flown for what felt like hours. She entertained the idea of returning to Kaznia. Her time in America had made her all the more certain that the bunker was more a cage than a real home. It was dark and it was lonely, but it was far away from National City, from Kara Danvers and most importantly, Lena Luthor.   
  
In the end, though, she had returned to her apartment. Where else did she have to go? She reached into her purse to retrieve her key, reaching around as a magician might into their tophat but came back empty-handed each time. Her fingers brushed the spine of the paperback inside and withdrew it as if it had burned her, sending the contents of her purse spilling out at her feet.   
  
_Wonderful,_ she thought, scooping down to throw everything back into her bag, nearly falling back when the door opened.   
  
“Alex?”   
  
“You weren’t answering my calls,” he said.   
  
“I... “ She swallowed. “I am sorry,” she said.   
  
“Get inside,” he said, stepping back inside, a light flickering on inside when he did.   
  
Red Daughter shut the door behind her, once again feeling as if the apartment was not all that different from the bunker in Kaznia. To her, it felt like the warmth had been sucked clean from the room. “I’m sorry you needed to come all this way to scold me,” she said and sat down at the table.   
  
“I didn’t come here to scold you,” Lex said. His gaze lingered on the small plant near the window before turning to Red Daughter. “I came to see you. I asked too much of you and was not forthcoming with what I had planned for the both of us, I came here to correct that.”   
  
“I don’t want to be Kara Danvers anymore.”   
  
“And why is that?”   
  
“Because I’m not her!” she shouted. “I am me.”   
  
“Yes, you are.” Lex seemed unconcerned with her outburst, drumming his fingers on the table. “And why do you think you and Kara Danvers look so similar? Did you really think it was a coincidence?”   
  
“No,” Red Daughter said, clearly nettled. But you did not tell me-”   
  
“I’m telling you now,” he said coolly. “By now you must have noticed the similarities between the two of you, the ones that run more than skin deep. I didn’t ask you to impersonate Kara because I believed in your acting ability. I did it because it is where you belong. Kara Danvers’s city, her life, the _people_ she surrounds herself with. They were always meant to be yours.”   
  
“I don’t understand,” Red Daughter said.   
  
“Of course you don’t, because Kara Danvers made sure that you don’t. Your memories, they were stolen from you and then replaced. The stone that is in my sister’s possession, the Harun-El is what Kara used to rob you of your memories,” he lied.   
  
“She stole my memories?”   
  
“You remembered me though. She couldn’t take that away, not everything.”   
  
_You and Lena…_   
  
If we get the Harun-El, I believe that we can get them back, begin to make things right.”   
  
“I could remember… What would I remember?”   
  
“I couldn’t say. I hope at the very least it would return the memories of those closest to you. I and anyone else that might include. You could get back what was always yours, make right what has been made wrong. Go back to the life that was always yours."   
  
“It can't be true... Why did she do it? Why steal my memories, throw me out into the world with nothing?”   
  
“I told you before. Kara Danvers is selfish and weak. She gladly put her own desires before everyone else, threw you out into the cold. She pretends to protect the city and its people knowing that she’s merely replaced its true savior. You. But it’s become clear that my initial plan is no longer tenable. Kara Danvers knows that you are here.”   
  
“But you said-”   
  
“Because I didn’t want to worry you or discourage you, not until I had a new plan.”   
  
“And you do?”   
  
“Yes,” Lex said. “I’m afraid though that Kara has robbed us of the luxury of patience.”   
  
“No,” Red Daughter said, shaking her head. “I do not wish to be patient.”   
  
“And why is that?” Lex asked.   
  
“Because I am angry.”   
  
“Good, then we can get started."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sincerely hope you all enjoyed the chapter, thanks so much for your interest.


	10. Look up in the sky...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Alex finds a lead on Kara's impostor, she gets a surprise of her own...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter got split into a slightly shorter one to make the next one flow a bit smoother. Very much unexpected fluff but that's never a bad thing.

Sleep was one luxury that Kara could never seem to get enough of. Between her work as a reporter and her duties as Supergirl, it often meant very late nights and a lot of black coffee. The added stress of her imposter running around and slipping so easily into her life was just the cherry on top of the sundae but when she woke a little after nine the next morning she couldn’t remember ever feeling so rested, or happy.    
  
Lena’s arm was draped over her chest and her leg was tangled with her own in such a way that she doubted even she could have slipped out without Lena noticing. Not wanting to wake her, she remained still, happy to enjoy the moment and replay last night over in her head. They had returned to the couch, had somehow found their way back to the place they had been before they had been so rudely interrupted.    
  
Lena had asked her for just one more thing that night. The memory is so clear that she could almost feel the heat rising off her face in waves.   
  
_ Make love to me. _

_ That  _ memory is even more vivid but if there had been any doubt in her mind about whether it happened or not, she would need only look at the floor to see how the two of them had shed their clothes in messy piles leading to the bed.    
  
She felt Lena stir against her, squeezing her arm gently as if to check that she was really there and nuzzled closer.    
  
“Morning,” Kara whispered, turning on her side so that they were facing one another.    
  
“Morning,” Lena replied, a Cheshire-like grin spreading across her face.    
  
“How do you look like that right when you wake up?”    
  
“Like I’ve just burst my way out of a grave?” She pulled her hand out from under the blanket and held out a lock of hair that was sticking up at a very odd angle, trying to examine it as best she could without a mirror.    
  
“Beautiful,” Kara corrected her.   
  
“Are you going to shower me with compliments every morning because that should really wait until after I’ve had time to actually shower.”   
  
Kara pointed towards the bathroom, blushing slightly. “It’s not as nice as your shower,” she warned her as if this was the first time that Lena had ever set foot in her apartment.   
  
“Just as long as it has hot water.”   
  
“It should?” Kara said, not sounding sure herself.    
  
“Maybe you could help me with the hot water… I’d hate to burn myself.”   
  
“Oh, you just jiggle the faucet and turn it about halfway to your-” She had held her hand up to show Lena just how far she should turn it when she realized what Lena was getting at. “Oh,” she said.   
  
Lena nodded, sliding one leg out from under the blanket. “Now you’re catching on.” 

* * *

  
The fit wasn’t nearly as cramped as Kara had believed it to be. The bathroom itself was on the smaller side but she was pleased to find out that the shower fit two rather comfortably or rather it fit her and Lena that away. The first few seconds of spray are ice-cold and she felt Lena take refuge behind her, giggling.    
  
“Did you just use me as a human shield?” Kara asked, giving the tap another little nudge, feeling the water start to warm rapidly, small wisps of steam already beginning to form.    
  
“Girl of Steel and all… Can you blame me?”    
  
Kara turned around, feeling the spray hit her back. She reached out and wrapped her arms around the small of Lena’s back. The slight difference in their height seemed so much more pronounced like this. She had kept just enough distance between them that it might have looked like they were about to slow dance if not for the fact that they were both completely naked.    
  
She watched as Lena closed what distance remained as she pressed her body against Kara’s. Kara closed her eyes and felt Lena plant a series of kisses along her neck leading down to her collarbone. She exhaled and uttered a little gasp, her fingers tensing, running along Lena’s back, tracing shapes along with it. Tilting her head, she used her index finger to coax Lena’s head up a fraction of an inch, kissing the corner of her mouth.    
  
Kara felt the aching desire to rush ahead, that flood of endorphins, and her own love for Lena mixing to form a potent cocktail. She would have very much liked to have pursued that desire, to see it through but knew just how dangerous it could be for Lena.   
  
Lena seemed to notice her hesitation, wrapping an arm around Kara’s neck. She leaned close to her ear, breathing heavily against it. “I won’t break,” she assured her, one hand trailing down Kara’s stomach, her slender fingers dipping along a trail she had already become quite fond of. “   
  
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Kara whispered, letting out a groan when she felt Lena’s fingers brush against her inner thighs.    
  
“You already promised,” Lena reminded her. “Besides, we didn’t have any problems last night.”   
  
Kara felt the color rising in her face, opening her mouth to retort when Lena’s fingers brushed against her inner thighs and all that came out was a soft moan that was all the go-ahead Lena needed to continue.   
  


* * *

  
They had lingered a bit too long in the shower and Kara wasn’t sure what surprised her more, that her and Lena had been able to keep their hands off each other long enough to wash up or that the hot water held out as long as it did. She had been so lost in the moment that she didn’t hear the incessant knocking at the door.   
  
“Did you misplace your phone, Kara?” Alex’s voice rang out from the other room and Kara opened her eyes in shock so fast she found herself blinking back tears as some soap got in her eye.    
  
“I swear to God if you dropped it in the ocean again…” Alex knocked on the bathroom door and opened it a crack so that she could talk through it. “I’ve been calling for the past few hours. We finally got a lead on fake you.”    
  
“Oh… That’s great, Alex, I’m sorry I must have misplaced my phone.”    
  
“Mmm,” Alex said, not sounding at all surprised. She rubbed at her temple. “I almost forgot,” she said. Password?”    
  
“Plumerias,” Lena answered, grinning brazenly at Kara who looked mortified.    
  
“Oh, Lena…” Alex cleared her throat, already shutting the door having put two and two together. “I’ll just wait out in the kitchen. Or outside in the hall,” she muttered, closing the door with a click.    
  
Both Kara and Lena came padding out ten minutes later This time, Kara had taken refuge behind Lena, sitting down at the kitchen table with a towel wrapped around her head and wearing a loose t-shirt and shorts. Lena sat down beside her, pleasantly surprised to see that Alex had made coffee.    
  
“You’re an angel,” Lena said, leaning over the mug and inhaling before taking a small sip.    
  
“Yes,” Kara agreed. Thank you.” Her face was still red and she was doing her best to avoid making eye contact with Alex without making it too obvious.    
  
“First of all,” Alex said as she added two cubes of sugar to her coffee. “Congratulations. Second, I’m glad that you two are here together, it makes this easier.” She brought out her tablet, setting it down on the table and turning it towards both of them. “There were about two dozen police reports about a sonic boom last night around eleven o’ clock. Probably would have been more if we didn’t live in National City.” She pointed. “Not far from here.”   
  
“We didn’t hear anything,” Lena said, looking puzzled and turned to Kara who nodded.    
  
“Mmm-hmm,” Alex said. She didn’t look surprised and held Lena’s gaze for a moment. “Funny thing is, the security footage on the entire block has either been erased or the cameras were never running in the first place.”   
  
“What a coincidence,” Lena said under her breath, taking another sip of coffee.   
  
“Exactly. Lucky for us, we were able to find someone who just happened to be vlogging their trip to National City not far from here.” She tapped the tablet’s screen and a video began to play. It showed a couple walking arm in arm, the camera moving shakily from left to right. It focused on a few passing cars, and store signs while the couple chatted animatedly about what they might do tomorrow when a sound that reminded Lena of a thunderclap fuzzed out the camera’s microphone. The camera whipped upward towards the sky when Alex paused the video.    
  
“Not the best camerawork I’ve ever seen,” Lena said.    
  
“No,” Alex agreed but it’s all we’ve got. You recognize the sound, don’t you, Kara?”   
  
“Yeah, I do.” She looked over at Lena and flashed her a warm smile. It felt wonderful to have Lena next to her, to be able to tell her everything. “But I didn’t do any flying last night.”   
  
Lena’s mouth curved into a very mischievous grin and nodded.    
  
“No,” Alex said plainly. “I figured that out myself, but there is this,” she said and pointed to the screen.    
  
To Kara, it looked like a smudge but on closer inspection, it did look vaguely human-shaped. Lena was even quicker on the uptake, glancing out the window before she turned her attention to Alex. “You think that’s Kara’s imposter?”   
  
“I thought that we might be working with a shapeshifter. I probably put too much focus on that theory but seeing as how it happened right outside your apartment and that the timing was more than a little suspect,” she said and pointed to both Kara and Lena.    
  
“You think she has my powers  _ and  _ you think that she was spying on Lena and me?”   
  
“It makes sense. I met her here,” Alex said, pointing to the spot they had talked. “I don’t know how long she was in here before I came by, she could have been in here for hours and she’s obviously shown an interest in Lena. What I want to know is why?”

  
“We could always wait and see if she spies on our next date?” Lena suggested.   
  
“That’s crazy,” Kara said.   
  
“Actually, I think it’s not a bad idea.” Alex looked from Kara and then to Lena and back to Kara. “We don’t have much to go on,” she said and pointed back to the tablet. “But it might be better if Lena were alone…”   
  
“No,” Kara said flatly. “It’s too dangerous, Alex.” She frowned. Kara realized just why she had been so happy to speak to them together. If Alex talked to Kara about this first she would have never allowed her to put Lena in harm’s way.    
  
“I know it would be dangerous but Lena is the only one she’s visited twice and it’s not like we would leave her there alone. We would be nearby if something went wrong.”   
  
Kara’s mouth turned downward into a frown and shook her head. “I don’t like it.”   
  
“Do I have a say?” Lena said softly. She gave Kara’s hand an encouraging squeeze. “I’m touched that you’re so worried about me, Kara, but I want to help if I can and as Alex said, you’ll be there if I need you.”    
  
Kara was outnumbered and while she could have tried putting her foot down, she knew that it would do little to deter Lena. It was what she loved about her, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t worry any less. “I shouldn’t even try to fight you on this, right?”   
  
“Nope,” Lena said, looking both proud of herself and very much in love. 


	11. I don't do sneaky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Lena tries to get some answers from Kara's impostor, Kara finds her help is needed elsewhere

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was initially much longer but I decided to split it into something a lot more digestible since it's looking like the next chapter will be a whole lot longer.

“Kara, can you please stop pacing?”    
  
Alex had spent the last two hours, checking and double-checking the makeshift setup that she had been able to throw together on short notice. Considering that she had done all of this in only two hours, she thought it rather impressive, something that she had tried pointing out to Kara who had been too in her own head to notice. Not that she could blame her, this plan was risky and while Lena was no stranger to working with Supergirl or her for that matter but it was different having her in the fold. Not to mention that she was now dating her sister. That made it all the more important to her that Lena remain safe.    
  
“You were the one who told me to stop flying around,” Kara said. She came to a stop, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. It was plain to see that she hadn’t taken kindly to being outvoted.    
  
“I did. And now I’m telling you to stop pacing.” Alex sighed and pointed to the monitor. “We have audio and video of Lena’s penthouse, we’re right nearby  _ if  _ something happens and we’re not even sure if they’ll show up. If they don’t then we’ll find a different way to find them. Something that doesn’t involve Lena,” Alex added, already anticipating Kara to throw out that condition.    
  
“Again. Don’t I have a say in this?” Lena said, her voice coming in clear over the comms.    
  
“You do,” Kara assured her, “But not if the best idea we have is using you as bait to lure out my impostor. 

“Because you love me,” Lena teased, stifling a very un-Lena-like giggle.    
  
“Exactly,” Kara said, her arms still crossed over her chest looking at Alex almost defiantly as if she expected her to say something. 

_ They’re going to be insufferable,  _ Alex thought. “Remember, Lena. You don’t need to ask her anything out of the ordinary, let her lead the conversation. What did you two talk about before?”   
  
“Before? Just normal things. Books.” Lena smiled softly and glanced over at her bookshelf. “Movies.”    
  
_ I wish I had been there to protect you…  _ Lena blushed, remembering the night in more detail. She had believed it was Kara saying those things to her because it felt so much like her. She had spent the majority of her life surrounded by some of the world’s best liars and Kara’s imposter had not so much as pinged her radar. Why?    
  
“I seriously doubt that she came to see you so she could ask you what your favorite movie is,” Alex said, her brow furrowed, lost in thought.   
  
“It’s  _ Titanic _ ,” Kara said, leaning closer to the monitor to examine each angle that the cameras inside Lena’s penthouse caught.    
  
Lena grinned, tilting her head upward to look at one of the cameras Alex had set up and winked.    
  
“There’s a reason they don’t let couples work stakeouts together…” Alex muttered. 

* * *

  
  
Red Daughter had grown more accustomed to the wig. She no longer caught herself making small adjustments to it under the guise of checking her hair. It was still itchy and made her feel more than a bit foolish but with it, she did not look so much like Kara Danvers which was enough reason for her to wear it.    
  
Alex had been very clear on what she was to do today. She was to stay far away from Kara Danvers and not go anywhere near L-Corp. She had no intention of doing either. She had gone out looking for a new cafe but after nearly an hour of walking, she had passed by several of them without going in. She simply hadn’t found one that suited her. It was the quintessential ‘Goldilocks’ problem and one Red Daughter thought would be solved eventually. She certainly hadn’t meant to wander in the direction of Lena’s penthouse, but since she was here already…    
  
“Kara!”   
  
“Lena.” Red Daughter grinned. “I was in the neighborhood and thought I would stop by and see if you were home.”   
  
“You caught me. Come in.” Lena smiled and opened the door wider

* * *

“She really does look like me,” Kara said. She leaned closer to the screen, looking for any imperfection or tell that might set them apart but couldn’t find any. “I don’t know how Lena is so calm.” She shook her head. “I don’t do sneaky.”   
  
“Well, it’s lucky that Lena does.”   
  
“If she so much as-”   
  
“She’ll be fine, Kara. I promise. I wouldn’t have even suggested it if I thought that Lena would be in any danger. Alex reached out and took Kara’s hand in hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze.  


* * *

  
“I’m not interrupting?”   
  
“I told you that you never can,” Lena reminded her.   
  
“Yes,” Red Daughter said softly. “Kara never can…”   
  
“Did you miss me that much?” Lena joked. “Because it hasn’t been that-”   
  
“Yes.” Red Daughter’s cheeks flushed a deep shade of crimson. “I missed you.”   
  
“Oh.”   
  
“You didn’t miss me?”   
  
“Of course, I did.” Lena smiled. “I just… “She shook her head. “Is that all you came over to do? To tell me you missed me?”   
  
“If it was, should I go now?”  Red Daughter grinned, taking a step towards the door.  
  
“Not a chance.”   
  
Alex hadn’t taken her eyes off the monitors for a second, knowing how easy it was to miss something during a stakeout. She didn’t need to turn her head towards the sound of whining metal to know what it was. “Kara?” 

“Hmm?”   
  
“You’re crushing the chair,” Alex said without taking her eyes off the screen.    
  
“I-.” Kara’s eyes widened and she took her eyes off the screen to look down at the chair which had stretched and twisted in her grip. She let go of it, dusting her hands off on the front of her suit. “I’m sorry, it’s just, this is weird.”   
  
“I know it is,” Alex said patiently. “If I didn’t know any better…” Alex trailed off, clearing her throat, fiddling unnecessarily with the microphone levels.    
  


Kara’s mouth turned downward. She knew how Alex meant to finish that sentence. ‘If I didn’t know any better, I would say she’s only there to see Lena.’ It seemed ridiculous but why had her imposter constantly seek out Lena and not Alex or any of her other friends that she considered like family? She could think of only one thing, she loved all her friends but she wasn’t  _ in  _ love with them. That was an honor reserved only for Lena. But that  _ couldn’t  _ be it.

“Do you have somewhere to be?” Lena asked.  
  
“Why do you ask?"  
  
“You keep looking at your watch… If you have somewhere to be…”  
  
“No! I mean. I just, I’m supposed to meet Alex later, I didn’t want to lose track of time again. I always seem to lose track of time with you, Lena." She smiled again, looking a little more at ease and pulled out her copy of _The Wild Irish Girl_ from her purse. “I finished it this morning.”  
  
“Did you like the ending?”   
  
Red Daughter grinned and nodded. “It was beautiful. I cried twice. I meant to read something else but I just decided to reread it.”  
  
“That does sound like you,” Lena said. _No, not her, it sounds like Kara,_ she thought. Kara, who almost always wanted to watch _The Wizard of Oz_ and still acted as if it was her first time. Kara, who spent way too much time agonizing over what to order at Big Belly Burger only to almost always get the same thing.   
  
“Does it?” Red Daughter’s face fell slightly. She shrugged noncommittally, once again checking her watch. "I guess so..."  
  
Lena’s phone buzzed on the coffee table and she tilted her head slightly to get a better look at who was calling. “It’s work. Just give me a second.”  
  
Red Daughter shook her head. She seemed determined to look everywhere else but at Lena. “Take your time,” she said softly.   
  
“If it can’t wait until M-” Lena’s eyes widened and her grip on the phone tightened. “When?” Without realizing it, Lena looked up at one of the cameras Alex had set up, glancing away quickly when she realized what she was doing. “How many hostages?”  
  
“Hostages?” Kara’s face fell. “Alex… I need to go. We need to get Lena out of there.”  
  
“Alright,” Alex said. She looked disappointed but didn’t seem willing to argue.  
  
“No,” Lena said, speaking louder, turning to face the camera hidden in the ceiling light. “Supergirl _will_ get there. I’m sure she’s just rescuing a kitten in a tree somewhere. Just wait a little longer. Calling the police now will only make things worse. They haven’t hurt anyone yet? Good. I want to keep it that way.”  
  
“Kara,” Alex said. “ I think she wants you to go.”   
  
“I know,” Kara said, nibbling on her bottom lip. “But I can’t leave her here.”  
  
“You won’t be. I’ll be here. And there are people right now that need you more.”  
  
“You’re both so stubborn… Please, Alex. Keep both her and you safe.”  
  
“You worry too much. Go on. The sooner you go the sooner you’ll be back.”  
  
Kara cast one last look at the monitor before slipping out of the window, flying off in the direction of L-Corp.  
  
“Is everything OK?” Red Daughter asked.  
  
“No,” Lena said, setting her phone back down on the coffee table, clearly shaken. “Armed men have taken hostages at L-Corp. They’re demanding to speak with Supergirl. There is hardly any staff there on Sundays... Pretty much just a skeleton crew, that and security. Why they would choose today of all days... Taking me hostage I could understand..."   
  
“It's awful, I'm just glad you weren't there,” Red Daughter said. “But Supergirl will come, I'm sure. She is National City’s hero, after all…” she added bitterly.  
  
Lena was surprised to detect a hint of steel in their voice. _Do you hate Kara?_  
  
“You must be worried, but I’m sure that no one will be hurt.” She forced herself to smile and rested her hand on top of Lena’s. _Alex promised that no one would be hurt…_ _  
_ _  
_“If it’s a ransom that they want, they should have just called me.” She laughed. “Lex would call me a fool if he knew I earmarked funds to pay out a ransom in the event someone took hostages. He and my adopted mother still think that caring is a weakness.”  
  
“And is Kara Danvers your weakness?”  
  
Lena blushed, so shocked at the question that she didn’t even realize at first how strange it was worded.   
  
“I was taught never to reveal my weaknesses, but, yes. Kara Danvers is my kryptonite.”  
  
 _Kryptonite?_ _  
_ _  
_Lena was silent for a time before turning back towards Red Daughter. “Who are you?”  
  
“Not part of the plan, Lena!” Alex’s eyes widened and she stood up so suddenly from her chair that it fell over behind her.   
  
“What are you talking about?” Red Daughter asked, color rising in her cheeks impressively fast.   
  
“I know that you’re not Kara,” Lena said gently, reaching for her hand.  
  
Red Daughter could only shake her head as she stood up, snatching up her purse as she did.  
  
“I’m not angry,” Lena said. I mean… Maybe a little… I have a thing about being lied to. But why pretend to be Kara? Why come see me?”  
  
“Why don’t you ask her?” Red Daughter said, her voice slipping into her natural speaking voice. “I don’t vant to pretend to be anyone,” she said quietly. “I just vant to be me. I’m sorry if I hurt you. I never intended…” Red Daughter sidestepped Lena easily and had her hand on the knob before Lena had even turned around. "I told you already, Lena. I came because I missed you..."  
  
“Wait!”  
  
“Everything will make sense soon,” Red Daughter said, speaking more to herself than Lena. “I don’t remember my name, it was stolen from me, everything was stolen from me, but I never forgot you, Lena. You or Alex. I hope you can remember me soon.” 

There was a gust of wind strong enough to nearly knock Lena backward onto the couch and when she looked up again, Kara’s double had vanished.    
  
“Lena!” Alex’s voice thundered down the hall followed by hurried footsteps before Alex burst into the room. “Are you alright?”   
  
“I’m fine,” she said hurriedly.   
  
“Thank God. What the hell were you thinking? You know that Kara is going to kill both of us now, right?”   
  
“She wasn’t going to hurt me,” Lena said, gesturing to the still-open door.    
  
“Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean that wasn’t incredibly foolish, Lena.”    
  
“We did find a lead though.”   
  
“Did we?” Alex asked because it feels like we know even less than we did before.”   
  
“That accent,” Lena said. “I recognized it. It’s Kaznian.”   
  
“Our impostor is Russian?” Alex looked almost punchdrunk. “That’s something, at least, but you’re going to be the one to tell Kara how we found out. She can kill you first," she added, shaking her head.    
  
“Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks so much for reading!


	12. Rainchecks and acceptable losses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Kara chases down the only lead they have in the search for more information about her impostor, Red Daughter discovers some unsavory truths

Lena and Alex had barely any time to discuss the new developments with Kara’s impostor before Kara herself flew in through the window. She landed gently beside Lena, pulling her into a quick hug.   
  
“Password, Kara,” Alex reminded her.    
  
“Plumerias,” she mumbled, seeming to only just realize that Alex was there as her cheeks flushed and she took a step back. “You’re okay?”   
  
Lena nodded. “Of course I am.” She exchanged a quick look with Alex, wondering if she hadn’t perhaps agreed to tell Kara what had transpired too easily. She had never been one to roll over while negotiating and she could have at least got Alex to agree to tell her together… “Is everyone at L-Corp safe?”   
  
Kara nodded, sitting down on the couch and scooting just enough to make room for Lena. There were nearly a dozen gunmen inside by the time I got there. “They only took one hostage. Eve.”   
  
“Eve?”    
  
“I think they thought she knew the password into the vault beneath L-Corp. That was where they were holding her.”    
  
Lena shook her head. “The vault has a biometric lock, only I can open it. Let me guess when Eve couldn’t open it they-”   
  
“Wanted me to,” Kara finished.   
  
“How very original,” Lena muttered. “With all of the trouble National City finds itself in, how do crooks like that sleep at night?”   
  
“It didn’t take me long to incapacitate the ones guarding Eve. I would have gotten her out first she warned me that there were other gunmen on the upper floors. I was going to escort her out but she was worried about everyone else.”   
  
“Eve was?” Lena looked shocked, withering somewhat at the look on Alex’s face. “Eve’s a nice enough person. I mean, she’s a very hard worker but she’s not very warm.”    
  
“I didn’t like the idea of leaving her there and she suggested I could leave her in the vault until it was safe.”   
  
“You didn’t leave her in there, did you?” Alex asked.   
  
“No!” I opened the vault for her and I went to go subdue the other gunman.”   
  
“How easy was it to get into the vault?” Lena asked. “Be honest.”   
  
Kara looked sheepishly away. “ _ Really  _ easy.”

  
Lena smirked. “Well, you didn’t have to be that honest.”    
  
Alex seemed to sense that the two were once again forgetting that she was in the room with them because she cleared her throat before speaking. “And Eve was alright?”   
  
“Yeah, she was. After I did a sweep of the building I went back to go get her. I offered to fly her home but she said she needed to get back to work.”   
  
“She sounds like employee of the year material,” Alex said.   
  
“Yeah,” Lena said, frowning.    
  
“But tell me what happened with the other me. Did she just leave?”   
  
Alex leaned back in her chair, happy to let Lena field that question.

* * *

  
Red Daughter had gone straight home after leaving Lena’s. It was where she should have been from the beginning. Alex had told her in not so many words to be patient, at least for a time and she hadn't even been able to do that… And now Lena knew that she was lying, that she was merely pretending to be Kara Danvers.  _ Her  _ pretending. Not Kara. The injustice of it all made the anger that she had such a hard time wrestling into submission break free again. Her eyes glowed red for a brief moment and she forced herself to breathe.    
  
Her cellphone jittered on the table and while she reached for it instinctively, she waited for a moment to get her emotions under control before picking it up, too afraid of crushing it accidentally to do so.    
  
“Hello?”   
  
“Are you ready?” Lex asked, not bothering to say hi back.    
  
The answer that sprang to Red Daughter’s mind was  _ no,  _ but she so very wanted to be. “ I am.”   
  
“Good, because you need to be. This next step is not something I’ll be able to help you with.”    
  
Red Daughter could hear the sound of his footsteps as Alex paced. He was nervous? Was it because Kara Danvers had forced him to expedite their plan or because he did not believe that she was up to the task ahead of her?    
  
“I still don’t understand what it will accomplish though, Alex.”   
  
“Sometimes,” Lex said, “a cigar is just a cigar. This is just an opportunity for National City to get used to the presence of their true savior. I’ll call you again when everything is ready. Until then, stay home. Read, watch TV. I know you want your time in the sun and you’ll have it, but I need you to be a little more patient.”   
  
“I will, Alex. I wish you could visit.”   
  
“I need to remain here for the time being. What happened at L-Corp today can’t be traced back to me and we need to keep it that way. Staying in prison gives me the perfect alibi. I’ll visit you as soon as I can. Until then, I will call. We’ll play chess next time.”    
  


* * *

  
“I didn’t know you could be so sweet.” It almost sounded like a barb aimed at Lex but one look at the sickeningly sweet smile on Eve’s face made it clear she meant it to be a compliment.    
  
“We all have sacrifices we need to make,” he said, not looking at her.   
  
“I admit I don’t see how getting your little project to play star-spangled superhero helps you on your path to world domination.”   
  
“Plans change. She may hate Kara Danvers for what she thinks she did to her but she’s shown far too much interest in being a hero for me to proceed with my original plan. She wants the life she thinks has been stolen from her and to be a hero? Why not give her both? Kryptonians have a funny way of making excuses for themselves when they think that they’re doing the right thing.” Lex’s lip curled into something resembling a snarl. “Besides, if things do work out, I get rid of Supergirl and earn the fealty of a Kryptonian attack dog.”   
  
Eve’s smile only widened. She stared at Lex for a few moments before opening one of the files she had tucked under her arm and cleared her throat before speaking. “The team you hired is currently in police custody being booked. They’ve been paid in full and all of them have waived the right to an attorney. They’re still on track to meet an unfortunate accident during transport to prison… And the Harun-El has been placed in a lead box and is being transported to a secure location.”    
  
“Good.” Lex said nothing for a while but eventually reached a hand out that Eve latched onto almost at once. “I know that I’m asking for a lot-”   
  
“No,” Eve insisted, interrupting him. “You’re really not. I would,” She smiled brightly, batting her eyes, “I would do anything for you.”   
  
“Yes,” Lex said. “There’s only one more thing I need from you and then, after everything has settled then we can be together.”   
  
Eve nodded happily. “I can’t wait.”   
  
“Neither can I,” Lex said and smiled back at her.    
  


* * *

“Kaznia?”   
  
Lena nodded. “I’ve done business with people from there in the past. I recognized the accent immediately.”    
  
“And what does that mean?” Kara wondered.    
  
“You don’t happen to have a twin you failed to mention?”    
  
“That is not funny, Alex.”    
  
“I didn’t mean it to be. It’s just… We were working on the theory that we were dealing with a shapeshifter and now I don’t know what to think.” She leaned over the laptop and replayed Red Daughter’s exit from Lena’s penthouse. “Because it looks like she has your abilities as well, Kara. Those aren’t as easy to imitate.”    
  
“No…” Kara agreed. “Maybe there is a connection.” She looked first at Alex and then at Lena. “She said that everything was stolen from her but she remembered the two of you. If there were two people I could never forget it would be you two… And, she told Lena that she loves her… I don’t know…”   
  
Lena went slightly pink and she nodded. “I don’t think she said it to deceive me. I think she thought I was asleep.”   
  
Kara stood up. “Maybe I can go poke around in Kaznia, see if I can find any more clues.” She shrugged. “I still feel like we’re grasping at straws but at least we have something of a lead.”    
  
“I don’t know, Kara.” Alex’s attention was pulled away from the footage they had captured and back to Kara.    
  
“Just to poke around a little. And I’ll be careful.”   
  
“Didn’t you just say a while ago that ‘I don’t do sneaky’?”    
  
“I don’t,” Kara said defensively. “But we don’t have any other options and we are not making Lena wear another wire.”   
  
“She wasn’t wearing a wire!” Alex rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.    
  
“Just for the record, you  _ don’t  _ do sneaky, at all,” Lena said. “But I don’t see the harm in poking around a little  _ if  _ you’re careful. Kara’s right. We don’t have much to go on. If we don’t follow up this lead we’re going to be stuck spinning our wheels.”    
  
“Should we vote?” Kara asked, pursing her lips ever so slightly to try and stop herself from smiling.   
  
“So I can be outvoted? No.” Alex rolled her eyes. “Next time we have one of those meetings I’m calling J’onn or Brainy. Just be careful, Kara. I don’t know what’s going on and I feel like we’re just waiting for the other shoe to drop.”    
  
Kara nodded, looking apologetic. “I won’t be long and I’ll keep in constant contact.” She turned towards Lena, pulling her hands into her lap. “I know we were supposed to have dinner together but can we maybe get a raincheck?”   
  
“I should have known the sacrifices I would need to make when I chose to start dating Supergirl,” Lena said, her face inscrutable for a moment before she flashed Kara a warm smile. “And I already had a dress picked out for tonight too…”   
  
“Oh?” Kara’s face flushed and she opened her mouth to ask Lena just what dress she had picked out when a very loud sound made the both of them jump.   
  
Alex had begun to pack up the equipment, trying to make as much noise as possible. “Insufferable,” she muttered, shaking her head a little.    
  
“I’ll just have to show you when you get back,” Lena whispered, kissing her on the corner of her mouth before she turned to help Alex clean up. 

* * *

  
Red Daughter had tried reading near the window while there was still a bit of daylight left but she found it impossible to get lost in the book as she usually did. Every time she drew close, she thought of Lena and found herself distracted again. She knew that she wasn’t Kara but she had wanted her to stay… She shook her head, trying to clear her head. She knew what Alex would tell her. He would say to be patient. Once she had her memories back it would be so much easier to explain everything, for her to take back everything that Kara had stolen from her.    
  
Setting her book aside, she walked to the couch, flopping on it and drawing her legs up close to her chest. She reached for the TV remote, flipping on the TV and began to channel surf. After ten minutes of flipping from show to show without finding anything that held her attention when she saw a familiar face flash by for a second. Turning back to the channel she passed she caught another glimpse of the photo displayed in the top right corner before it vanished.    
  
“Miss Teschmacher has been arrested on suspicion of stealing from her place of employment, L-Corp,” the female anchor with perfectly styled hair said. “While involved in a hostage situation earlier in the day, Miss Teschmacher has since come forward to admit her part in the crime.”   
  
Red Daughter’s eyes widened and she pressed the volume up button. “Why did Eve?” Red Daughter trailed off, her brow furrowed.    
  
“-details are still forthcoming. We’ve reached out to Lena Luthor for a comment about her thoughts on the situation but she has declined to comment. If convicted, Eve faces up to fifteen years in prison-”   
  
Red Daughter turned off the television, staring at the blank screen. Getting caught wasn’t part of the plan, why would it be? She stood up, grabbing the cellphone of the table in the kitchen and redialed the last number she had called. It rang five times before she heard Alex pick up.   
  
“Eve’s been arrested.”   
  
“You’re watching the news,” Lex said.    
  
“What happened? I don’t understand… You said that no one would be hurt.”   
  
“And no one was,” Lex said silkily. “Miss Teschmacher’s had a job to do and she’s done it. I didn’t realize you were so fond of her.”   
  
“I’m not,” she answered honestly. “I just… We should help her.”   
  
“Do you really think you can save everyone? Eve was a necessary sacrifice going forward. If the theft at L-Corp was even tangentially tied to me, how long do you think it would take Lena to come knocking on my prison cell? You’re overly ambitious with your pawns when we play chess. You understand how sometimes we need to give up something to gain something.”    
  
“And the people you hired? Will they be sacrificed too?”   
  
Lex didn’t answer right away. He sat up from his bed, rubbing at his temple. “Yes, they will.”   
  
“You promised me no one would be hurt!”   
  
“Those men I hired were mercenaries They wouldn’t bat an eye if I told them to open fire in the middle of the city if I paid them enough. Your mercy is misplaced on those unworthy of it.” 

  
“You lied to me.”   
  


“I did,” Lex admitted. “Because I can see the bigger picture. A war with Supergirl can not be won without one of us being pragmatic enough to do what is necessary.”   
  
“And your plan, Alex. If you need to, will you sacrifice me too?” Before he could reply, Red Daughter crushed the phone in her hand, throwing the mangled pieces away from her as if they burned her.    
  


* * *

  
_ Maybe it’s best that our date got postponed,  _ Lena thought. She had planned to cook dinner for her and Kara and thought that she would use the free evening to get some practice in. The pasta she put on the stove to boil had frothed over and when she went to sop up some of the water she had caught the towel she had been using on fire. She had been able to put it out before the kitchen had gotten too smoky but by the time she had drained her noodles they had swollen and bloated until they were no longer recognizable. And the sauce? Well, she could always buy a new pan. She still wasn’t sure how she had made a tomato sauce that had stuck so stubbornly to the pan… and her kitchen walls.    
  
She fanned a towel near the door leading out to her balcony in a bid to clear the air of the smell of smoke when she heard a knock at her door. “Coming!” she called, waving the towel one last time like a starter flag. She peered through the peephole before throwing open the door.   
  
“Hi.”   
  
“I’m not Kara….” Red Daughter said. She stared at her feet, not able to muster the courage to look up at Lena, so convinced that she would slam the door in her face that she tried to prepare herself as much as possible for it in advance.    
  
“I know.” Having peeked behind the curtain it was easier for Lena to distinguish between the two, it also helped that whoever was standing in front of her was no longer trying to pass herself off as Kara.   
  
“I don’t know why I came here. I know you don’t want to see me…”   
  
“Are you OK?” Lena asked, leaning down to try and catch a glimpse of her face.   
  
Red Daughter shook her head. “I don’t think so.”   
  
Lena nodded. “Come inside.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update took longer than I expected. Expect a shorter wait this time around!


	13. I wish I could remember you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Red Daughter's reeling from Lex's betrayal she finds herself reaching out to Lena while Kara tries to scare up any leads on her doppelganger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter actually got split into two so this chapter will be a bit shorter and the next will be a great deal longer. I kind of wanted to keep things light for a bit longer...

It took Lena another five minutes to coax Red Daughter in the door and another two to get her to sit down on the couch. The differences between the woman on the couch and Kara only became more pronounced now that she was no longer attempting to be anything but herself. She looked so unsteady and unsure that Lena’s heart broke a little seeing just how afraid she seemed to be.   
  
“Do you want anything to drink or are you hungry?”   
  
Red Daughter shook her head. “You are cooking?” Her nose wrinkled and she peered towards the kitchen and the source of the smell.    
  
“No,” Lena said flatly. “I was trying to but no. I do have other food that isn’t burnt and awful.”    
  
“Do you have any cake?”    
  
Lena smiled. “I do.” She walked to the kitchen, ignoring the acrid smell that still hung quite heavy in the air and cut a generous wedge off the cake she had just bought the day prior. She had bought it for Kara but she wasn’t about to tell her that.    
  
“It might be a little late for coffee,” Lena said.    
  
“Coffee would be nice,” Red Daughter said sheepishly.    
  
“Let me make some then,” Lena said and smiled.    
  
A few minutes later, Lena came out of the kitchen holding a tray laden with two steaming cups of coffee and nearly half the cake cut into two generous pieces. She sat down next to Red Daughter and handed her a fork. “I didn’t make this if that wasn’t obvious,” she joked.    
  
“Thank you all the same,” Red Daughter said. She took the cup from the tray and took a small sip. She made a face but found that while bitter the coffee that Lena made was not nearly as bad as the coffee she had been drinking at the cafe and after trying a piece of the chocolate cake she thought that the two paired together incredibly well.    
  
“Do you really not remember your name?”   
  
Lena had brought her own cup of coffee to her lips meaning to drink but had set it down again, looking carefully at Red Daughter. Physically she and Kara were identical but the way they held themselves was different enough. She had never seen Kara look so vulnerable before, not even when the two had spent the night together…    
  
“No,” Red Daughter said flatly. She speared another piece of cake delicately onto her fork and brought it to her lips. “I  _ have _ a name but it isn’t mine, at least I don’t think it is.”   
  
“What is it?”   
  
“Linda. Linda Lee.” Red Daughter had no affection for the name but it was the closest thing she had to something so essential and in her bid to distance herself as much as possible from Kara Danvers, embracing that name would go a long way in doing that.   
  
“Linda,” Lena repeated. “Similar,” she said and grinned, pointing at herself. “Is it alright if I call you that?”   
  
“Yes,” she said after some deliberation. “You don’t hate me? I lied to you. Deceived you.”   
  
Lena blinked, feeling a dull throb in her chest. Kara had lied too. They had found their way past that particular hurdle but the hurt would last a while longer. She doubted if the lie was indelible but Linda striking a nerve made it clear that it would be some time for the hurt to disappear completely. “You did. But everybody lies.” She chuckled. “You must not know me all that well if you don’t know that and I definitely don’t hate you.”    
  
It was Linda’s turn to feel the sting from Lena’s words. “No,” she admitted. “I know that you like reading and that you cannot cook and you can eat a lot more than one might expect and that you snore.”    
  
“That’s a lot more than most people,” Lena said, blushing as she took a sip of her coffee. She looked over her mug at her. “Do you want to talk about it?”   
  
Linda shook her head, pushing her cake away from her and sighing. “I would not know where to start.” It wasn’t just Alex that was bothering her, it was everything. Kara Danvers, Lena Luthor, and herself. They all weighed on her in different ways and made her desperate for something to hold onto. She had been thrown into stormy waters and it was Alex that had come to her side and now it felt as if he had abandoned her, leaving her floundering again. Why then did she swim to Lena?   
  
“The beginning is as good a place as any.”   
  
Linda shook her head sadly. “The night is not long enough I think.”   
  
Lena smiled. “Fair enough.”   
  
“Somebody lied to me. I thought that they wanted what’s best for me but now I am not so sure... “   
  
Lena’s smile faded and she could only sigh, knowing all too well the conundrum that she was facing. “That is a tough one.” She slid closer to Linda on the couch so that their knees were almost touching. “It’s never easy.” She looked away for a moment, lost in thought. “Someone I love very much lied to me too, for a long time. I thought that they were being selfish and that they didn’t trust me as I trusted them. It hurt so much and it had me second-guess almost everything in my life. It took me a long time to understand that while they might have been selfish they had done what they did to protect me.”    
  
Was what Alex had done for her protection? She could not be so sure. He had been adamant that every move that he had made had been for her benefit but he had also kept her in the dark at every turn and even when he had been honest with her, she could not shake the feeling that there was more that he was keeping from her.    
  
“We fought,” Linda said. “I stormed out and I came here.” She pursed her lips. “I don’t know why I came here.”    
  
Lena smiled. “I’m not usually the person people turn to for comfort.” It was Kara that Lena thought would be best equipped to help someone in Linda’s shoes. That endless warmth and compassion that Lena found herself drawn through like a moth to a flame. “That’s why I had to bribe you with food,” she joked.    
  
Linda shook her head. “I feel better being with you. Maybe the cake played a small part,” she said and giggled.    
  
_ I know you’re not Kara but you sure remind me of her the way you toss out those kinds of compliments.  _ Lena set her coffee aside and smiled. “Well, there’s more in the kitchen if you’re hungry.”    
  
Linda shook her head and smiled. "Do you like sweets?"  
  
"I do," Lena said and giggled. "They do not like me though." Ever since meeting Kara, she had needed to be careful to balance out her diet by going even harder at the gym. She felt a small pang of jealously when she thought of how flawless Kara looked without needing to watch what she ate. Evidently flying around keeping the city safe burnt plenty of calories. "I try not to keep too much around the house but things have changed lately," she said, her cheeks glowing a faint pink.   
  
"There was a cafe in the city that I liked to go to, they had nice cakes." Linda thought about pulling out her phone to show Lena a picture that she had taken one day when she had realized her phone had a camera and remembered that what remained of her phone was in pieces back at her apartment. Before that thought had time to drag her back down, Lena held out her own phone and handed it to her.   
  
"There's a place in France that I would fly to every day if I could. I may have taken the jet there a few times when I was feeling in need of a pick me up. The Kouign-Amann is to die for. It also has enough butter and sugar in to undo several days of hard workouts at the gym so I try and eat it only on special occasions. But..." she said, swiping her finger across the screen and showing Linda another picture. "There is a very nice cafe near L-Corp that does a wonderful Dacqoise. We could go sometime if you like?"  
  
"I'd like that..."  
  


"Do you want to watch a movie?" Lena asked.   
  
"I should probably go," Linda said, it's late and I just barged in to bother you."  
  
"You live alone, right?"   
  
Linda nodded. "I do."  
  
"Then all the more reason to stay."

  
“Why are you so nice to me?” Linda pushed a few crumbs around with the back of her fork. “Even Alex…”   
  
Lena’s brow furrowed.  _ Are you not talking about Alex Danvers?  _ She wondered, not wanting to interrupt Linda’s train of thought.   
  
“Alex is very passionate and very helpful but they are not warm. Not like you, Lena.”    
  
“I’m not warm,” Lena said, almost defensively in how quickly she refuted Linda’s claim.   
  
Linda shook her head. “You are to me.”   
  
Lena blushed and smiled. “If I can help you, Linda, I want to. I don’t know how you lost your memories but if there was something I could do to get them back.”   
  
Linda felt her stomach twist itself into a guilty little knot when Lena offered to help. Why had Alex insisted on such drastic measures when Lena was so willing to help? “You don’t need to do that,” Linda said sadly.   
  
“Maybe not, but I want to. And,” Lena said cautiously. “I’m sure that Kara would want to help too…”   
  
Linda bristled and the sad smile on her face was replaced by a frown. “I don’t think  _ she  _ would want to help me.” She shook her head and froze when she felt Lena’s hand on her knee.    
  
“Kara wants to help everyone. She can be annoying like that.” It was that same persistence that had gotten Lena to open up her heart to not just her but everyone. “You don’t need to make any decisions tonight, just something to think about. Once you live here in National City long enough you get used to unusual problems and I’m not as optimistic as Kara by a longshot but I am very persistent. If there’s anything I can do for you, Linda I want to do it. And I'd like to get to know you better if you'd let me. You don't need to pretend to be anyone but yourself."  


Linda knew all too well how lonely her life was. She had awoken with no memories of her life and spent her days in a bunker that was cold and dark and had then moved to a city which on its worst days could be just as cold and her only connection was a voice on the other end of the phone but it was being in close proximity to Lena’s warmth that made all that pain ache so much. She hadn’t even realized she had begun to cry until Lena pressed a tissue into her hand. She dabbed at her face clumsily trying to will herself to stop crying and was shocked when she felt Lena pull her into a hug.  She didn't want to be cold anymore, didn't want to be alone anymore...  
  
She tried to pull away halfheartedly which only made Lena hug her tighter, guiding Linda’s head to rest on her shoulder.    
  
“I’ve got you,” Lena whispered. I’ve got you.”   
  


* * *

  
  
It had been even less than a longshot but Kara had spent several hours in Kaznia and had nothing to show for it. With not even a name to go on, she had been reduced to scouring the city as a civilian. The mild-mannered reporter shtick  _ could  _ be useful but it had not been one of those times. She wanted to sleep for a few hours and then see Lena. She wanted to see her now but not before she had a chance to shower, at least… The two had to postpone their date but she didn’t see the harm in making up for lost time…   
  


Which made Kara all the happier that she called just as she was getting back into the city. Coming to a stop in mid-air she fished her phone out of her suit and brought it to her ear.    
  
“Lena! I just got back into the city. I was going to shower and nap before I-”   
  
“Could you come over now? But you have to promise not to freak out,” Lena said over the phone.   
  
“You know if you tell me not to freak out that’s the first thing I’m going to do, right?”   
  
“I do, but you really don’t have to. Just come over and then I can explain. You can decide if you want to yell at me afterward.”   
  
“Already on my way.”   
  
“I can make breakfast if you-”   
  
Lena had been on the balcony and pressed her thumb to the screen when she saw Kara hovering just a few feet above her, touching down in front of her.    
  
“How were you ever late when we met up before?”   
  
“Don’t change the subject, what’s going on?”   
  
“Linda’s inside,” she said.   
  
“Who’s Linda?”   
  
“I’m Linda,” she said, poking her head out from inside of Lena’s apartment.    
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading. I promise that whatever happens in the next coming chapters there will be an eventual happy ending, I'm not a monster :P


	14. Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena tries to navigate Kara and Linda's first meeting while Kara finds herself jealous of someone who is almost her exact double and Linda goes to try and make amends before choosing a course of action if she's allowed to make one at all.

Lena was only faintly aware that she was no longer standing near the edge of the balcony or even standing at all.  _ When did she?  _ She looked up at Kara who was holding her high above the balcony in a bridal carry looking down at Linda suspiciously. Any other time she would have found such an act wonderfully romantic and a part of her still did but she knew how skittish Linda had been even before she had suggested meeting Kara and this wouldn’t likely help matters. 

“Are you alright?” Kara asked. “She didn’t-”   
  
“Of course-”   
  
“I would never hurt Lena,” Linda said, sticking her head out a bit more to glare at Kara.   
  
“I’m really fine,” Lena assured Kara. 

“I told you this was not a good idea,” Linda said. She had disappeared back inside and her voice came floating through from inside. “She is determined to dislike me. She is not nearly as sweet as she would like you to believe...”   
  
“I am  _ not  _ determined to dislike you,” Kara said.   
  
“She needs our help, Kara. She came over last night and-”   
  
“She was over last night?! Why didn’t you call me?” Kara asked and did a double-take, looking at Lena wide-eyed. “She didn’t stay over, did she?”

“We did not sleep together,” Linda said, peeking her head out.   
  
“That’s not what she means,” Lena whispered, “but we didn’t, of course. She did sleep here but I slept on the couch and she slept in my room.”    
  
Lena hoped that would put Kara’s mind a little more at ease but it seemed to have the opposite effect. She did however float back down towards the balcony but seemed hesitant to set Lena down, only doing so when Lena gave her a soft kiss on the corner of her mouth. “I’ll explain everything inside.”   
  
“I don’t know if we have enough time for that,” Kara grumbled. She looked at Linda who had stepped out onto the balcony wearing what she recognized as one of Lena’s oversized t-shirts that she sometimes wore when they had a girls’ night and she felt her stomach twist itself into an uncomfortable knot.   
  
“You know I’ll make all the time in the world for you,” Lena said, wrapping an arm around Kara’s waist and hugging her from behind, placing her chin on Kara’s shoulder. She hated knowing that she had worried Kara at all but she was relieved that she could show her contrition more openly now that the two were dating. A hug would be a good start and once the two were alone she could see if there was anything else she could do that might convince Kara.    
  
Linda watched the two of them out of the corner of her eye, pretending to be interested in a number of birds resting on a windowsill across the street. She may not have wanted to be Kara Danvers anymore but it didn’t stop her from envying her even if she didn’t want to admit to herself exactly why.    
  
“I’m totally going to freak out later after this is all over,” Kara said, trying to force herself to look cross but finding it impossible with Lena’s face so close to hers.    
“Sounds fair to me,” Lena said, giving Kara a gentle push in the small of her back   
  


* * *

  
  
The shock of seeing Kara and Linda in close proximity to one another hadn’t registered when they were on the balcony but when Lena came in from the kitchen with coffee and saw both of them sitting across from one another it struck her just how odd it really was. They didn’t look perfectly similar but more like a very easy ‘spot the difference’ picture that one would only need to glance at to see how the two images differed.    
  
“So, your name is Linda?” Kara said, cradling her coffee mug in her hands and looking at Linda over it.    
  
“It’s the closest thing I have to  _ my  _ name, yes.” Linda dropped a handful of sugar cubes into her coffee and stirred, chinking the sides of her cup as she did. “I don’t remember it.”   
  
“She doesn’t remember anything about herself,” Lena offered. “She  _ is  _ from Kaznia, at least that’s the place she was in before coming to the city.” Lena reached across the table and slid Linda’s passport across the table to Kara. “It’s fake but it’s a very well made one. Nine times out of ten that wouldn’t trip any alarms in any airport.”   
  
“And who gave it to you?”   
  
Linda who had just raised her coffee cup to take a sip fidgeted and shook her head before taking a small sip and setting her cup back down.    
  
“She hasn’t been as forthcoming about that as everything else.”   
  
“And about her looking like me?”   
  
“ _ You  _ look like me,” Linda muttered, glaring at Kara and brushing her hair back in an attempt to differentiate herself from Kara.    
  
“Agree to disagree,” Lena said and pushed a small plate of biscuits towards Linda which she accepted with a toothy grin. “Whatever the reason why you two look alike-”   
  
“Not  _ that  _ much alike,” Linda said, munching on a biscuit.    
  
“-isn’t what’s important,” Lena said, continuing on as if she hadn’t heard Linda. “What’s important is helping her get her memories back.”    
  
Kara exchanged a quick look with Lena and nodded, her expression softening. "Of course."

Linda had a biscuit halfway to her mouth and dropped it, snatching it up easily before it had a chance to hit the table and set it back on the plate. "You vant to help me?" 

"If I can, of course, I do."

"I told you she would," Lena said and smiled at Kara. 

Linda remained skeptical, searching Kara’s face for any sign of a tell. “I still think you put your trust in the wrong people, Lena.”   
  
“It sounds like  _ you’re  _ determined to dislike me,” Kara said. “Why do you hate me so much?”   
  
Linda glowered at her and opened her mouth to reply when Lena patted her arm and the scowl on her face instantly melted looking at Lena apologetically.    
  
“She thinks that you have something to do with her memory loss,” Lena said. “It took me nearly two hours to convince her that you would never do something like that.”   
  
“I am still not completely convinced,” Linda said, studying Kara’s face closely. “But Lena trusts you and I trust her.”    
  
“That’s a start, I guess,” Kara said. “Whatever I can do to help, Linda, I’ll be happy to do it but I still don’t understand how you… I look like you.”   
  
“It’s not just looking, Kara,” Lena said. “I haven’t done any extensive tests, obviously, but you two appear to be identical in almost every way.”   
  
“You mean she’s Kryptonian? No… That’s not possible.”  _ Things would have been simpler if she turned out to be a shapeshifter,  _ Kara thought.    
  
“About as possible as running into your exact double? If I could run a few tests, we could know for sure and that would give us a place to start in getting Linda’s memories back. If you two are as connected as I think you are, it might be key in getting her to remember anything beyond-”   
  
“You and Alex,” Linda said, blushing slightly.    
  
“Yes,” Lena said. “Something a bit more substantial.”   
  
Linda fidgeted. Lena had broached the subject of testing before. She had her share of that in Kaznia and was in no rush to have more done to her especially with Kara Danvers brought into the fold. “And you are sure the tests are necessary, Lena?”   
  
Lena nodded. “Nothing major, I promise, but we would need Alex’s help,” she said, turning to Kara. “Getting a blood sample from one of you is hard enough, much less two.”    
  
“I can call her. She’ll want to know either way.”   
  
_ Alex…  _ Linda stood up so suddenly that her chair wobbled, nearly toppling over. “I need to go.”   
  
“Now?” Lena asked, standing up as well. “Is it about the tests, Linda, because I promise you they aren’t anything to worry about.”   
  
“If I’m making you uncomfortable, I can leave…” Kara didn’t look happy but she did stand up. “Obviously you don’t-”   
  
“No,” Linda said. “It’s not you, Kara. I am thankful for your offer of help, I just… I need time to think it over,” she lied. “Can I have a day?”   
  
Lena bit her lip, obviously not happy but nodded. “Of course you can, Linda. You can have as much time as you want.”    
  
“I don’t think I will need long… I just need to be sure.”   
  
“You know where to find me when you’re ready,” Lena said.   
  
“I do,” Linda said, conjuring up a very small smile and nodded politely to Kara before waving goodbye to Lena, stepping out onto the balcony and disappearing in what looked like the blink of an eye.    
  
“Am I allowed to freak out now?” Kara asked. She stood up to get a better look at the balcony and sighed.   
  
“I’m sorry,” Lena said. She pulled Kara into a hug. “I didn’t mean to worry you, but when she knocked on my door I couldn’t just turn her away. And she really is nice. She reminds me a lot of you.”   
  
“I wonder why….”    
  
“It might be because she is the spitting image of my favorite person in the world.” Lena reached up to caress Kara’s cheek with the back of her hand.    
  
“That’s what worries me,” Kara said, trying to force a smile to her face and only managing a kind of grimace.    
  
“Kara… Are you-”   
  
“I’m a little jealous,” she said, She knew how ridiculous that sounded but it felt even more so to try and lie about it. “I don’t know, I know I’m being stupid.” By nature, Kara was not prone to jealousy, not that she was completely immune to it. There had been moments that she had felt jealous but thinking back it seemed that each instance had involved Lena in some way, which made it all the more surprising that she had been able to convince herself so wholly that her feelings for her had been purely platonic.    
  
“I love  _ you,”  _ Lena said and poked Kara in the chest before taking her hand and trying to pull her to the couch, not making any headway until Kara allowed herself to be pulled. “But you’re not being stupid, you’re being adorable and stroking my ego all at the same time,” Lena joked. “But you have no reason to be jealous.”   
  
Kara knew she was being foolish but was happy all the same that Lena was so quick to reassure her. She sat down on the couch, pulling Lena onto her lap instead of letting her sit beside her. “Prove it,” she whispered.   
  
“What was that?” Lena asked, the way her eyebrow arched upward and the way she grinned back at Kara making it clear she had heard her the first time.    
  
“Prove it,” Kara said a bit louder, biting her lip and reaching up to cup Lena’s cheek gently in her hand.    
  
“I tried to do that last night by practicing making you dinner. Let’s hope I don’t almost burn the house down this time… But no promises.”    
  
“You almost burned the-” Kara was cut off by Lena’s lips crashing into hers and the question suddenly became a lot less important. When she felt Lena’s tongue flit out and brush against her own she lost her train of thought completely. 

Lena knew all too well how invasive certain thoughts could be and had noticed how rattled Kara had been about learning that Linda had not only come to visit Lena but that she had once again stayed the night which made Lena all the more determined to not let such thoughts take root. “I love you,” she murmured against her lips. “I love you so much, Kara.”    
  
“I love you too, Lena.”   
  
There were a million different ways that she could have proven her love to Kara and while she intended to fully explore each one of those options during the course of their relationship she could think of only one that seemed fitting at the moment.    
  
“Did I ever tell you how much I adore you in a skirt?”    
  
Kara shook her head gently, her breath hitching in her chest when she felt Lena’s hand slide down her thigh and back up again underneath her skirt, hiking it up and coaxing her legs further apart as Lena slid off her lap and onto the floor looking up at her. She watched Lena blow her a kiss that she caught clumsily. Her left hand was clenched into a tight fist that Lena took gently in her hand, coaxing it open and guiding it to her head, letting Kara’s fingers tangle in her hair. Looking down, she felt a shiver run through her body when she realized that Lena was looking up at her. When their eyes met, Kara could feel Lena’s pulse quicken, feel her breath against her inner thighs and then only writhe as she felt her tongue begin to go to work.   
  


* * *

In the end, Lena had been right. Meeting Kara Danvers had not been nearly as bad as she might have imagined. Her near-constant assurances that Kara was a good person as they talked into the night had played a big part in changing her mind but that hadn’t been the deciding factor. That had been the simple realization that Kara Danvers and Lena were dating and no matter how she tried to justify it, she couldn’t imagine Lena giving her heart to someone evil…” That brought a different kind of hurt but one that she would focus on later.    
  
She still didn’t trust her but she had given her a chance to try and change her mind. This meant the least she could do before looking for answers with her and Lena would be to offer Alex a chance to explain himself, to maybe work together. Whatever rift existed between him and Lena could certainly be mended, she couldn’t imagine a family so cut off from one another that they refuse to even meet, it seemed far too cruel.

Linda had nearly forgotten that before she had left she had destroyed the cellphone that Alex had given her. It had been her one link to him and she had severed it so easily. Now she could only wait for him to contact her if he even wanted to in the first place. She rooted around in the kitchen for a broom and began to sweep what remained of the phone into the dustpan. She carried the bits of broken plastic, glass, and twisted bits of metal to the trash can and dumped them inside, the beginnings of a plan forming in her head.    
  
She could visit him at the prison. She would need to wait until it was dark and she would need to be careful, of course. The chances of her being seen were quite high but it was better than waiting for Alex to reach out when she had been the one to pull away in the first place. He would likely be angry, he might not even want to speak with her but at least she would be able to give Lena an answer without feeling like she was simply abandoning Alex when he had been the only one that had been there for her…   
  
She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and smiled. Lena had let her borrow an oversized T-shirt with MIT printed across the front to sleep in and had forgotten to return it before she left. Even freshly laundered, the smell reminded her of Lena and realizing that her cheeks flushed and she turned away from her own reflection.    
  
Giving her head a little shake to clear her head, a crashing sound startled her so much that she jumped a little, hovering an inch off the ground before slowly touching her feet back on solid ground. She was no stranger to loud noises. The sound of munitions and gunfire was something she had grown accustomed to during her training but this had been close. Poking her head into the other room she saw that the window looking out had been broken. Something had punched a large, jagged hole in the window. Broken glass lay scattered all over the living room floor. She instinctively bent down to pick up one of the larger pieces and felt her knees buckle…   
  
She could feel the glass crunch underneath her as she fell on top of it. Struggling to her feet she was startled to see blood. Crisscrossing gashes on her knees and legs where she had fallen. The pain began to spread throughout her whole body that had nothing to do with the cuts on her legs. She tried to stand, feeling the room beginning to spin and the strength in her body leave her body as she felt the room begin to dim. “Lena,” she gasped, taking one step towards the door before everything went dark.    


* * *

  
Even before Linda had opened her eyes she knew that wherever she was it wasn’t a place she knew. She opened her eyes, blinking, the room slowly coming into focus. “ _ И где я нахожусь _ ?” ( _ Where am I?)  _   
  
“A hospital.”   
  
“Alex?” Linda struggled to pull herself up into a sitting position but stopped when she felt Alex’s hand on her shoulder.    
  
“You need to rest.” He stood up from the chair he had been sitting in and sighed. “You’ve been sleeping for nearly two days now. I was worried that you might never wake up.”    
  
“I don’t remember what happened. What are you doing here?”   
  
“Watching over you. I didn’t like how we ended our last conversation, I came to visit you and that’s when I found you. It’s a miracle that I came when I did if I hadn’t…” He shook his head, not needing to elaborate any more than that.    
  
“I remember glass breaking,” Linda said, her brow furrowed as she tried to recall exactly what had happened.    
  
“You were attacked,” Lex said. “It was my fault for not putting you somewhere safer. If there is such a place…” He crossed to the other side of the room and brought back what looked like a very heavy box. “You were bleeding when I found you, do you know why that is?” he asked, already knowing that she didn’t.   
  
“No… Alex, I don’t understand.”   
  
He nodded and took a step back before he opened the box just a crack. A bright, greenish light issued out from inside and Linda immediately felt sick, instinctively shrinking away from it.    
  
“Kryptonite,” he said and shut the box with a snap. “It’s deadly to you and to Kara Danvers. I told you that everyone has a weakness, this rock just happens to be one of if not your only one.” He smiled. “If only we were all so lucky. Humans are fragile things. We are cursed with only one lifetime and the real joke is that those of us poised to make the most of it grow to understand how fleeting our time really is." His smile faded and he looked grim. “Very few people know about your Achilles heel and even rarer than that are those with the means to acquire kryptonite."   
  
“Then who?”   
  
“I thought that would be obvious. The number of people who know you’re in the city we can count on one hand. Myself, my sister, Miss Teschmacher, Alex Danvers, and Kara Danvers. I told you that Kara was dangerous, I only wish I had done a better job warning you that she may try something like this” He leaned over and put his hand on her knee. “I’m sorry for lying to you. It was wrong. I did it to protect you. Sacrifices need to be made for the greater good, I only wanted to protect you from that but in trying to keep you from the pain I put your life at risk. Can you forgive me?”    
  
“I need to confess something, Alex,” Linda said. “After we fought, I went to see Lena. She told me that she could help me get my memories back and she convinced me that Kara Danvers would want to as well.” She blinked back tears. "She was there. She seemed so sincere... I believed her." Hot angry tears sprang forth and Linda made no attempt to wipe them away, letting them fall.   
  
“She can be very convincing, can’t she? To the city, she is a beacon of hope and light and she is more than happy to play the part until it inconveniences her. She is afraid of you. You have the ability to take everything from her. You can be the hero that the city believes her to be… You could even be the companion that my sister believes that she is," he said, looking away from her for a moment. "If you’re willing to trust me again.”    
  
Linda’s eyes widened and she felt her heart begin to race. It wasn’t the city that tempted her but the thought of Lena that made her choice an easy one. “You believe in me? Even after I disobeyed you, yelled at you?”   
  
“If you think that I would be so petty as to deny the world a gift like you over a minor squabble, you really must not think very highly of me.” He smiled and let out a sigh. “Right now, you need to rest. When you’re well, we can discuss our next steps. Together.”    
  
“I want to discuss them now,” Linda said, forcing herself up into a sitting position.   
  
Lex smiled. “I admire your perseverance.” He pulled his chair closer to Linda’s bed and began to speak. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll likely hit the halfway point in a chapter or two. Thanks so much for reading!


	15. Tipping Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena and Kara stumble across a promising lead while Lex's scheme begins to pick up steam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very close to the climax now, thank you so much for sticking with the story so long!

Lena had hoped that Linda wouldn’t need too much time to think but after several days without any word, she was beginning to wonder if she would ever see her again. She had no idea just who or what had skewed her view of Kara to be so mistrustful of her but she understood her trepidation. Trusting others was hard. That was a lesson that Lena still hadn’t mastered. Trust was not something she allowed herself to do often. Opening one’s heart so often led to pain… Which made Lena all the more determined to make sure that she did everything in her power to help Linda. It was why her and Kara’s reservation for dinner had been canceled and the two of them were in her office sitting on the floor with an open pizza box between them.    
  
“Any luck?" Kara had two large piles of documents in front of her as well as the notebook she normally took notes in, although the pages it was open to were blank. She nibbled on the half-eaten crust in her hand and looked up at Lena who had surrounded herself with what looked like a spider's web of documents and photographs. She had been holding onto the same piece of pizza without taking a bite for nearly ten minutes and when Kara spoke to her she seemed almost shocked to see it in her hand and took a bite and chewed methodically before answering.

"Maybe…" She ran a hand through her hair like she had just broken the surface of the water and came up for air and in a way she had done just that. She always dove wholeheartedly into any project she thought had merit and this certainly qualified. "It's just a theory," she said as if trying to temper Kara's expectations. 

Kara grinned at her, setting aside the satellite photo of Kaznia she had been examining. “I’m all ears.” Kara believed herself much more than a competent reporter but they were still working on such limited information it was like trying to piece together a puzzle not only missing pieces but having pieces from other puzzles mixed in along with it.   
  
“So as far as we can tell there aren’t any satellite photos that show anything out of the ordinary in Kaznia up until a month ago.” She pushed two of the photos that she had placed next to each other closer to Kara. She pointed at the photo on the left that showed undisturbed forest and then to the photo on the right that showed the same stretch of the forest except it looked as if a miniature tornado had touched down there and uprooted all the trees, leaving behind a substantially sized clearing. “And then there are these,” she said and gestured to the photos that Kara had been going over.   
  
“Strange troop movements and an increased military presence far away from the border,” Kara said.   
  
“Right. Not exactly a smoking gun, of course, but it is odd. It would support my theory that Linda hasn’t been in Kaznia all that long. This brings up a bunch of other questions, mainly where Linda has been all this time. It’s possible that she has just been lying low all this time but unlikely and of course, there’s the fact that you most definitely don’t have a secret twin sister.” Even with the situation as grave as it was, she couldn’t help herself from smiling at the ridiculousness of such a thing.    
  
“No,” Kara said and returned Lena’s smile with one of her own. They were still very much in the dark but that was one theory that hadn’t held any water.

“Not that the probability of Linda simply appearing out of thin air is any more likely but I wonder…” She took a moment to find the photo she was looking for and handed it to Kara.    
  
“Sam?” she asked, looking at the photo of Sam and her daughter Ruby who were posed together with their cheeks pressed against one another.  
  
Lena nodded. “More specifically, Reign.”   
  
Kara’s eyes widened. “It couldn’t be,” she said.    
  
“The timeline would match up,” Lena said, “and you _were_ exposed to Harun-El, however briefly. “More importantly, it might explain how Linda has absolutely no memories besides Alex and myself.” She blushed slightly and caught Kara’s eye. “Having lingering memories of Alex would make sense considering how important she is to you.”    
  
Kara scooted closer to her and reached for her hand. She clasped it in hers and brought it shyly to her lips. She kissed Lena twice on her open palm. “I could never forget you.”    
  
Lena smiled shyly and nodded in agreement.  
  
“But if that’s true,” Kara said, her smile turning upside down into a worried frown, “what would that mean for Linda  _ and  _ for me.”    
  
Lena shook her head. “As I said, it’s just a theory but one that I’d be willing to put money on if anyone were in a betting mood. It wouldn’t be like Sam if that’s what you’re worried about. I would need to run some tests to see the extent of how entwined the two of you are. In theory, the two of you  _ could  _ be separated just as the two of you could become one again. But as you and she are now? She is you to an extent the only difference is that she-”   
  
“Doesn’t have any memories.”   
  
Lena nodded. “And because of that, she is naive and alone.” She pursed her lips looking worried. “She did initially come to the city disguised as you which makes me believe that someone instructed her to. I couldn’t get much out of her but she was so sure that you were a villain… I thought I was getting through to her but maybe not.” She looked out the window and sighed. “I should have never let her leave.”   
  
“You couldn’t have known, Lena, and you were right not to force her to make a decision until she was ready.”    
  
“Maybe, but I still don’t feel good about it. I-” Lena trailed off. She stood up suddenly and walked over to her desk. She shuffled through some papers and pulled two out, her eyes wide. “I put everything at L-Corp on the backburner… I’m such an idiot.”   
  
“Lena? What is it?”   
  
“The break-in at L-Corp,” she said. “I’ve remained mum on the subject since it happened even though I’ve had a million reporters hounding me for a comment. A trusted employee involved in an inside-job, the article basically writes itself. I hadn’t even gone over the list of everything that was missing. It would have been the first thing I did but everything with us and Linda…”   
  
“Take a breath,” Kara said. “What did Eve take?”   
  
“Prototypes mostly, nothing that will hurt L-Corp too much in the end, even with the leg up I doubt that any competitor will be able to do too much with it. I assumed she was only looking to make a quick buck, but now I’m not so sure. Everything she took is what anyone else would take if they were looking to sell trade secrets except one thing.”   
  
“The Harun-El…”   
  
“Yeah. Not to say that it isn’t valuable but not only is the timing suspicious, there aren’t many that would even know what to do with it if they did get their hands on it but I know someone who would.”   
  
“Lex,” Kara said. “You don’t think he’s involved, do you?”   
  
“You really wouldn’t be surprised, would you?”   
  
“No,” Kara admitted, “but I had hoped with him in prison it might keep him out of our hair for a little while longer.”  
  
I just assume that he’s involved in some way with everything awful that happens in the city and if he is involved it would explain why Linda-”   
  
“Hates me.”    
  
“ _ Dislikes,”  _ Lena said tactfully. “And she’s coming around. But I’ll need to talk with him.”   
  
“Not alone,” Kara said. “I’ll come too.” She was at Lena’s side in an instant as if suggesting that they go right then.   
  
“I can handle Lex,” Lena assured her. She set the papers she had been clutching aside and wrapped Kara in a very tight hug. “You worry too much about me.” Instead of sounding reproachful or annoyed, she sounded pleased. “He probably won’t tell me anything but I might be able to make him nervous which will make him sloppy. While I do that though, can you look for Linda?”   
  
“I can,” Kara said. “I don’t know if I’ll have any luck but I’ll try, but I think that can wait until tomorrow.” The sky that had been inky black what only felt like moments ago was beginning to lighten, streaks of purple mixing into the sky in blotches as dawn approached.    
  
Lena looked like she might try and weasel her way into more research time but stifled a yawn with the back of her hand and nodded. “Sorry I ruined date night.” She pointed to the floor where they had spent the majority of the evening doing research.    
  
“I got to be with you,” Kara said. “ _ And,  _ I got pizza. If you ordered potstickers that would be like my perfect date.”    
  
“Yeah? Fly us back to my place and I’ll see about getting us the rest of the way there.” Lena waggled her eyebrows and took a look around the room, debating on whether she should clean up and seemed to think better of it because she hopped into Kara's arms and pressed her lips to her cheek.   


* * *

Looking for Linda was not exactly like looking for a needle in a haystack but Kara was beginning to think that even that would be easier. She had done several patrols of the city and found nothing, not that she believed she would. If Linda didn’t want to be found, there was very little chance of Kara flushing her out. Lena would have a far better chance of finding her.    
  
Kara hovered high above the city doing another sweep, her gaze passing over hundreds of faces, listening to snatches of their conversation. It felt strange to be searching for her own face among the thousands in the city below but she was slowly coming around to the idea. The jealousy she had seized her so completely when she saw the way Linda looked at Lena had been brushed away so gently and completely by Lena that it was easier for her to see Linda as a potential friend than a rival.  _ Even more than that,  _ she told herself. If Lena was right (and knowing Lena that was likely) she was a part of her and if that didn’t make her something akin to a sister then nothing did.    
  
She was about to do another pass over the city when her comm chirped in her ear and she quickly tapped it. “Lena?”   
  
“Sorry to disappoint you, but you told me to call if I found anything.”   
  
“Alex. You found Linda?”    
  
“Not exactly. I’ve been pouring over all the footage I can get my hands on. It would take me months to get through all of it but I did catch a glimpse of Linda in a pretty well-to-do neighborhood. It’s just a glimpse and I have no idea if she was just passing through. The footage is about a week old, I’m going to look over more of it now but I thought I should call you first.”   
  
“Give me the address and I’ll go check it out.”    
  
“Washington Avenue. It’s all apartments there so if she’s staying anywhere in the city-”   
  
“She might be staying there,” Kara finished.    
  
“Just be careful,” Alex said.    
  
“I’ll be fine, Alex. If you want to worry about anyone, worry about Lena.”   
  
“I can worry for the both of you. I still don’t know what she hopes to gain from visiting Lex.”   
  
“We can ask her after she’s back.”   
  
“I plan to. Keep in touch and let me know if you find Linda.”   
  
"I will," Kara assured her and let _me_ know if you find anything else on that footage."   
  


* * *

  
  
Lena had vowed never to visit Lex in prison. The person that she thought that he had been or maybe the person he had been once before, the caring brother that had been her shelter in a storm that never really ever ended was gone. Consumed by his grudge against Superman and his descent into megalomania had snuffed out any lingering remnants of the brother she had known and left behind a shell of a human being that seemed only capable of hurting those around him. Too many times she had been lured back to his side in an attempt to pull him back from that darkness without sinking into it herself and while the possibility had always dangled out in front of her impossibly close, in the end, it always amounted to the same thing: Lies and hurt. Sometimes she thought that was all her life could ever amount to be before she had met Kara.    
  
Lex could have refused visitors but Lena knew she wouldn’t. He had always loved to talk and while that didn’t mean he would ever let something slip unintentionally he would at least meet her. When she arrived at the prison, she wasn’t at all surprised to be almost instantly whisked away to a private room by the guard on duty.  He regarded her almost warily and had stood up from the chair he was lounging in rather suddenly.  
  
“One Luthor is bad enough,” he said, his keys jingling as he walked. “No offense, but if you want to meet your brother you’re going to have to wait here and I need to clear it with the warden first. No promises” He turned back to flash her an annoyed look as if he wanted to be sure that Lena understood just how much of an inconvenience this was to him.    
  
“None taken,” she said, her jaw set and her mind racing. She took a deep breath and felt the uncertain storm inside of her quiet almost immediately. It wasn’t so much gone as it was locked away for the time being. Weakness was not something that one could show around her family and not expect it to be exploited and she refused to let Lex set the terms of their meeting.    
  
The heavyset guard led her into what looked like a breakroom for those working at the prison. A large number of tables were set up inside as well as an ancient television in the corner of the room beside a vending machine that looked to be fully stocked. “Wait here,” he said. He cast one last look at Lena, sighing to himself before leaving the way he had come in.    
  
Lena wasn’t waiting long and when she heard a set of footsteps approach, she expected to see the same guard and was surprised when she turned around and saw Lex being led in by the warden. His arms and legs were shackled and while she was sure that he  _ loathed  _ being imprisoned, you couldn’t tell from the smug smile on his face.    
  
"You two have ten minutes," the warden said. He helped Lex sit down but kept him shackled. He stared at both of them and Lena knew at once what he was thinking. Here were two peas from the same poisonous pod. It was that misconception she had and would continue to battle her entire life. He left the room and Lena heard the scrape of a lock before he heard him walk down the hall, his footfalls growing fainter. 

"I'll be honest, I didn't expect you to come to visit me, but I also didn't expect you to betray me either."

"You tried to kill millions," Lena said curtly.

"To save humanity." He held his gaze for a moment before looking away. "Did you come to check that I was still rotting away in the hole you threw me in."

"You know why I'm here."

"I don’t," Lex said silkily. "But if I had to guess, you came to check on me. You always were too soft. The only one in the family with a drop of compassion. Don't tell me you came to ask me to repent. Not that I don't have ample time to do so thanks to you."

"There was a break-in at a L-Corp. An inside job."

"Surely you didn't come here looking for sympathy." Lex laughed. "You of all people should know just how often those close to us are the ones to betray us…" 

"No, Lex, I remember our childhood well enough. The countless lessons on how to be a Luthor while being told over and over again that I would never be anything more than an indelible burden for the family to tend to."

"A perspective that I never shared." Lex clapped his hands together as best he could with his hands in cuffs and grinned. "You came to accuse me of having something to do with it." His handcuffs rattled against the table as he chuckled. "I'm flattered you think I would be able to orchestrate something while under lock and key."   
  
"Oh, I know you can, Lex. I would never be so naive as to think that you would ever let something as trifling as imprisonment stop you.” She regarded him with a withering stare that made it clear that any attempt at a wounded gazelle act would have no effect on her.  
  
“That’s sweet of you to say but whatever you think I did, I had no hand in it. I’ve been using my time in prison to reflect. The people of Metropolis have always treated me like some kind of boogeyman that they can pin all their problems on, I sincerely hope that you aren’t taking after them in that regard. I haven’t left this cell in weeks.”    
  
“Maybe,” Lena said. “You’ve never had trouble constructing an alibi, but I know that you’re involved Lex and when I have proof, I’ll make sure that you wind up in a deep, dark hole somewhere where you can’t whisper into anyone else’s ear like the snake that you are.” Lena stood up. “If I find out that you hurt Linda or try and hurt Supergirl, I’ll make sure you don’t even get that luxury.” She could hear the blood pumping in her ears and turned to go. She strode to the door and hammered on it with her fist. “I’m done here,” she said when the door swung open. She made to slide past him when the warden reached out and grabbed her arm in a vice-like grip.   
  
“I can see myself out,” Lena snapped.    
  
Instead of looking at Lena, the warden only had eyes for Lex. Comprehension dawned on Lena’s face and she tried to twist herself free from the warden's grip when she felt a small sting on her neck. She reached up instinctively with her hand to touch the area and found that her arm felt so sluggish that the best she could muster was bringing it shoulder-high before it fell limp against her side. She opened her mouth to yell. Kara would come and save her. Her name trembled on her lips as she felt her eyelids already beginning to droop.   
  
Lex watched this scene unfold in front of him placidly. “You saved me the trouble of reaching out, Lena,” he said, not even sure if she could hear him with how her head lolled to the side. “Take her to solitary. We don’t want her to be able to call for Supergirl when she wakes up, but first.” He raised his hands and gave his wrists a wiggle. “I need to make a phone call and I’d prefer to do that with my hands free.” 


	16. House of cards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lex's plans tick closer to completion while Lena struggles to find a way out of the predicament she's found herself in and Kara's search for Linda is interrupted by the unthinkable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. I promise to try and have a happier chapter soon!

Lex had become far too familiar with the smell of the cigars that the warden liked to smoke. Every time that the two had one of their heart-to-hearts he seemed to be smoking one. He thought that the man’s taste might improve, considering just how much he was paying him to allow him to move about freely, but it seemed not to be the case. The Warden’s office stank to high heaven with that acrid smell of burning socks. It was however the only place in the entire prison that allowed him total privacy.    
  
He was expecting two phonecalls. The first had been easy enough to circumvent. He had made a call to the Kaznian government and told the person who had answered to pass on a message that he was certain would be passed up the food chain to those that needed to hear it. They might try and get back in touch with him but if they did he wouldn’t need to avoid their phone calls for long. What he had planned would keep them placated for the time being and when things were further along he could work on completely severing their partnership.    
  
His second phone call was one that would be far more difficult to avoid, but he wasn't expecting that call for another half hour or so which left him plenty of time to see Lena. She had been the one variable that had worried him, the potential fly in the ointment. But she had come to him and saved him the trouble of having to come to collect her and with her out of the way, there was little to do but bide his time until it was time for him to make an appearance. He could have idled his time away in the Warden’s office but the thought of breathing in any more of the stale air than he already had was unappealing and while he doubted if Lena could be swayed to his way of thinking he really couldn’t help but try and help her see his side of things.    


* * *

  
Lena’s head was throbbing. She went to press her fingers against her temple and found that something was stopping her from doing so. She looked down and was surprised to see that her right arm was handcuffed to the frame of the bed she was on. Blinking, she looked around the room, her head still wreathed in fog. The room she found herself in was narrow and looked more like a hallway than an actual room. Even handcuffed she could reach out and touch the door with her other arm. She wasn’t desperate enough to try banging on the door but she had screamed for help, not that she expected any of the guards to come to her aid, not when the whole damn place was in Lex’s pocket. She screamed for Kara, knowing that if she were able to, she would come to her and when she didn’t she knew that Lex had likely soundproofed the room. The alternative… That something was keeping Kara from her was not something that she let herself dwell on.    
  
When she heard the sound of approaching footsteps and watched the door open, she wasn’t surprised in the slightest to see Lex. She glared at him, unable to do much else. Whatever she had been dosed with was still working its way through her system and while she had the strength to yell, fighting or running was out of the question.    
  
“Sorry about that,” Lex said and sat down at the foot of the bed as if he had committed some minor faux pas instead of taking her hostage. “I couldn’t have you yelling for Supergirl.” He looked up. “Soundproof and lead-lined. Small insurance policy.”   
  
“She’ll find me.”   
  
“Ever the optimist. I’m sure your girlfriend would be touched at the vote of confidence.”   
  
That comment slipped past the defenses that Lena always kept up around any member of her family, shock showing on her face. “You’ve been spying on me.”    
  
“You didn’t expect me not to keep tabs on my sister, did you? I do have my concerns about your choice in women but I doubt if you’d want to hear them.”   
  
“I already know,” Lena spat. “What are you planning Lex?”   
  
“My plans have never changed, Lena. Just the methods. It’s not every day that a blank slate of a Kryptonian falls into your lap.”   
  
“If you hurt her, Lex…”   
  
“I was just beginning to think she was unsuitable for what I had planned for her,” he said pretending as if he hadn’t heard Lena’s threat. “Too stubborn and too much of that charming God complex that all Kryptonians seem cursed with. And you certainly didn’t help matters, undoing so much of my hard work. But paradoxically, I did seem to find the appropriate ratio of stick to carrot thanks to you.”   
  
“Lying to her? Using her? Is that what you call hard work, Lex?”   
  
“Pretending to care for her is what I call hard work,” he said coldly.    
  
“You’re a monster.”   
  
“I like to think that history will vindicate me. But as for Linda, I should have come to the conclusion myself. It makes a kind of sense that the copy would want what the original has.”    
  
“And what is that?”   
  
He grinned and looked at Lena, reminding her of when they were kids and Lex would go off on a tangent she hadn’t been able to follow along on and he would need to explain it to her. “You, Lena.”    
  
Lena blushed. She had suspected that Linda’s feelings for her were far from platonic, how could she not when Linda had told her as much when she thought Lena was sleeping?    
  


“She believes that you betrayed her and yet she’s still willing to risk everything for you.”  
  
“And why would she think that?” Lena spat.  
  
“Someone made an attempt on her life and very nearly succeeded. It wasn't very hard to convince her that it was the work of a jealous Supergirl and her very conflicted girlfriend.”  
  
Lena’s face contorted into one of pure disgust. “She’ll figure out it was you, Lex, and then you’ll have two Kryptonians that want you dead.”  
  
“Eventually, she will,” he admitted. “But by then?” He shrugged. “It won’t change anything. There’s only one more thing I need her to do and then I won’t need her anymore.” He pulled his phone out from his pocket to check the time and showed it to Lena. “Twenty-five minutes all of the goodwill that Supergirl has built up with this city will tumble like a house of cards.”   
  
He stood up. “I have no intention of keeping you locked up here forever, Lena. Just until the dust settles. Maybe by then, you’ll come around to my way of thinking.” He shook his head and looked at her pityingly before opening the door wide enough for him to slip through. He shut the door behind him and peered at her through the small window before disappearing.  
  
Lena didn’t even wait for the door to shut completely before she began to struggle against her restraints. The cold metal was already cutting into her wrist painfully but she hardly noticed as she tried to wiggle her wrist free. There was one upside to Lex soundproofing the room, she thought grimly. She could scream as loudly as she wanted without alerting any of the guards. She had only the rough workings of a plan in mind but she had no intention of sitting idly by and letting Lex have his way. Especially not when Kara and Linda were in danger...  


* * *

Kara didn’t immediately touch down on the street below. Alex was right. The entire street was nearly all apartments. They were far from the rent-controlled portion of town and therefore not a place that Kara was very familiar with. Focusing, she could hear the drone of television sets, snatches of conversation, and see a number of people going about their business in the apartments below but no Linda. She hadn’t really expected to find her there, it would have been far too easy, especially with all the hoops they had needed to jump through just to get her name.    
  
She focused her attention on the personal belongings in each apartment. She spotted a Metropolis Meteors pennant and Souvenirs from a large number of cities, photographs depicting various milestones; birthdays, honeymoons, graduations, and a multitude of various odds and ends that inevitably accumulate in an apartment after living there long enough. Only one apartment was completely devoid of almost any sign that it was actually lived in. It also had a hastily patched broken window.    
  
Not knowing where else to start looking, Kara descended rapidly, landing on the concrete hard enough to send a few faint cracks running along the surface. An almost empty apartment was far from proof positive that it was Linda’s apartment but she had a hunch that it was. She tried the doorknob and was relieved to find it unlocked. If she was wrong and this wasn’t Linda’s apartment it wouldn’t have been easy to explain to anyone why Supergirl had suddenly taken up breaking and entering.    
  
She had already scanned the apartment with her X-Ray vision and knew that no one was inside but she still couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched. She hadn’t been lying when she had told Lena that she didn’t do sneaky. The first thing that she noticed when she entered was that the window  _ was  _ broken. It had been covered up hastily and had been broken from the outside. She could see minuscule bits of glass that had obviously been missed in the cleanup as well as what Kara was fairly certain was blood.  _ It can’t be Linda’s,  _ she thought. The chances of that being true were incredibly slim. A longshot that only the most reckless of gamblers would bet on but it was  _ someones.  _ The only question was whose? 

Deciding to press deeper into the apartment she found herself in the kitchen and it was there she found the first sign that someone actually lived there. There was a solitary chair pushed out from the table and a book that lay open on the table. She turned the book toward her and took a peek at the cover. “ _The Wild Irish Girl?”_ _  
__  
_ The name sounded so familiar but she had no idea from where. She was sure that it was a book that she herself had never read. She walked down the hall and passed what looked like a small bathroom and at the end of the hall found herself looking into a bedroom. She hesitated in the doorway for a moment before entering. She already felt guilty enough about poking around in someone else’s apartment. It was the memory of the dried blood in the living room that got her feet moving again.  
  
The bed was made and from the looks of the room, it didn’t look as if anyone had been here in quite a while. Her gaze ping-ponged from the bureau on the far wall to the closet near the foot of the bed. The closet somehow seemed a little less intimate and was therefore the place that Kara decided to check first. Sliding the door open she instantly knew that she had made the right choice.   
  
There was very little empty space in the closet in comparison to Kara’s which she always seemed a bit too bare. It was hard for her to keep too many shirts around when so many of them were ruined when she needed to quickly become Supergirl. She did have a few favorite outfits though. Ones that she wore quite often, which was why it was so shocking to see all three outfits on hangers, pushed to one side of the closet. Not hers exactly. The ones in front of her were brand new for one.   
  
There was no doubt in her mind that she had found Linda’s apartment. But like every other time before this one, it felt that she had succeeded in going one step forward and a giant one backward. It wasn’t Linda’s apartment that she had wanted to find, it was Linda, and judging by what little she had been able to glean from poking around, it looked as if she hadn’t been home in quite a while.   
  
She was about to tap the commlink in her ear to call Lena when it gave a little chirp and she opened the line.   
  
“Kara? Where are you right now?”  
  
“Washington Avenue,” she said. “I found Linda’s apartment.”  
  
“Lena’s in danger-”  
  
_BOOM_ _  
__  
__I knew I should have gone with her._ _Stupid, stupid._ Once outside of the apartment, Kara flew straight up gaining altitude. She made a sharp turn and pointed herself in the direction of the prison. “Talk loud, Alex,” she yelled over the sound of the wind. “What did you find out?”   
  
“Lena was right,” Alex yelled. “Lex is on the security footage going into the apartment. I have J’onn doing some digging but if I had to guess-”  
  
“It’s Lex’s apartment. I never should have let her go alone. I’ll be there in…” Kara came to a very sudden stop, her cape billowing around her as she hovered there. She was far too familiar with the sound she could hear in the distance and knew what would follow… She shut her eyes, wishing she could shut herself off from it. “Alex… A bomb just went off in the city.”   
  
“Kara…”  
  
Kara bobbed in the air like a cork. Her hands had closed into tight fists. “Call Lena, Alex. I need to… I need to ( _go to her)_ help.” She felt her eyes start to burn and wished more than she ever had before that she could just be Kara Danvers for one day. That she could rush to her girlfriend’s side and not feel the weight of an entire city on her shoulders.  
  
“Kara…” Alex said carefully. “ I did. I tried calling her before you. She didn’t answer. I’ll send DEO agents to the prison, Kara. I’ll send the whole damn department if you want. But if people are hurt…”  
  
“I know, Alex!” Of course, she knew. She knew what was expected of Supergirl. She also knew what Lena would have wanted. She would want her to put the safety of those in the city ahead of her own… “Do it. Send every last person you can. I’ll be there just as soon as I make sure that She pointed herself in the direction of the city and flew towards the sound of breaking glass, screaming and stamping feet. _I will save you, Lena… Please… Wait for me._  
  


* * *

  
  
This was all wrong. 

Linda had been perched on the rooftop she had been sitting on for the last hour when she felt the whole building shake beneath her. She had been expecting the blast but not such a large one… _No,_ a small voice in her mind said, repeating it over and over, sounding less and less sure each time. This was wrong. She stood up on shaky legs and looked down at the symbol on her chest that she felt a strange fondness for the more she looked at it. Once again, she was masquerading as Kara Danvers. Well, not Kara Danvers exactly. To anyone that might lay eyes on her would think she was Supergirl.   
  
She had agreed to Alex’s plan, had assured him that she was ready to participate, and she had been. She wanted her memories back, she wanted her life back, and more importantly, she wanted Lena… But not like this. Discrediting, Kara Danvers. That was what they had _both_ set out to do. But she would never have agreed to it if she knew that it meant putting people in real danger. He had lied… Again… Would he tell her again that it was for her own good? Ask for her forgiveness? Would she give it?  
  
Up and down the street, car alarms blared, joining together into a cacophony of noise that did little to drown out the sound of screaming and in the far distance, the approach of sirens. Now came her part. Not to help, not to protect but to be seen. But how could she fly away from this? This nightmare? She groped for her phone and dialed Alex’s number. She expected it to ring endlessly and was surprised when he picked up on the first ring.  
  
“What are you doing?”  
  
“Alex… You told me that no one would be hurt.” There was a note of poorly disguised fury in her voice that she tried to suppress.  
  
“ Kara Danvers has had years to build up this city’s trust. Do you think it will all come tumbling down so easily? You _can_ save these people. Just as soon as you play your part. If you want to argue or yell at me, save it until after we’re done.”   
  
Linda heard the connection drop and she let the phone clatter to the rooftop. She looked down at it and fought the urge to crush it under her heel. She bent low and scooped it up before walking to the edge of the building and looking down. The street below was chaos, but she knew that already. She had heard every single scream and pane of breaking glass and she heard the fear and panic in people’s voices as they ran.   
  
As she allowed herself to descend to the street below she heard the way that so many frantic heartbeats slowed and saw so many looks of fear morph into ones of relief. Linda watched as a woman carrying her child held her out wanting her to take them. She almost reached for them and stopped herself.   
  
“It’s Supergirl!” A man cried. He was nursing a head wound that was bleeding profusely and pointed up. “There are some people that were caught in the blast. They-”  
  
Linda closed her eyes, tried to block out all the noise around her, and to focus only on her own breathing. It was Lena’s face that swam in her mind’s eye and what she focused on when she allowed her eyes to glow red and float closer to the crowd. She tilted her head down and fired a warning blast at the street and floated forward until she touched down on the ground in front of them. The crowd of people that had only moments ago been pushing against one another in a bid to get closer to her stopped abruptly. There were a few seconds where the entire crowd seemed to stop moving as one and then began in earnest to try and get as far away as possible, scrambling over one another to do it. The woman who had held her baby out to her, tucked her baby protectively close to her, buffeted by the crowd, and nearly fell, stumbling and just barely righting herself as a blonde woman grabbed her by the arm, hoisted her up and ran with her.   
  
Blinking back tears she looked up at what remained of the building she had just been perched on top of. The windows were blown out and there were fires burning on several floors. Several large chunks of the building had fallen to the street below and had miraculously not hit anyone but a number of cars parked nearby were crushed. She had scared off the crowd that had gathered around her but there were others that were watching her. She could feel their eyes on her as she looked up at the building, her eyes glowing red once again as she raked her gaze across it. She could hear the sizzle of metal, see the building deform ever so slightly. Alex had wanted her to burn it down completely but the thought of doing that now made her feel sick. The blueish glow faded from her eyes and she looked around to see nearly a dozen people staring at her, each of them holding a phone in her direction. An apology trembled foolishly on her lips and she shot up into the sky, leaving behind a sizable crater in the street below as she took off. 

  
She shot straight up into the sky until the city below had shrunk beneath her and the sounds below had quieted to a degree that she could begin to block them out.   
  
“Linda?! What are you doing here?” Kara came to a sudden stop in front of Linda, barely registering that she was wearing an exact duplicate of her suit. “I was looking for you. Lena is-”   
  
“For what? To make sure that you killed me?” Linda’s eyes flashed red for a fraction of a second and she shoved her arm out, catching Kara hard enough in the chest to send her backward several feet.    
  
“No! Why would you think that?” Kara shook her head. "Lex, of course..." She floated closer to her. “I think that Lena is in danger, Linda. We need to find her. She went to visit-”   
  
“I am tired of being lied to,” Linda muttered. Her eyes shone with tears and she shot past Kara, catching her hard in the shoulder, quickly disappearing from view.  



	17. Murphy's Law

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara continues her search for Lena while Linda begins to question just how much she can trust Alex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long. Work has kept me busier than usual. We're nearing the finish line and I'm both happy and a little sad to see it ending. Enjoy the rest of the ride.

“Linda?” The shock showed clearly on Kara’s face and while she raised her hands high to show Linda that she meant no harm, the jumble of voices from far below slowly began to untangle from one another and became audible. Frightened voices and nervous heartbeats and the smells and sounds of burning, of blood. Mixed in with the cries for help and names of what Kara knew were likely loved ones were curses aimed at Supergirl. Their voices tinged with hate and what so often accompanied it, fear.   
  
“Linda, whatever you’ve done. We can fix it but you need to know whatever Lex has told you, whatever _Alex_ has told you, it’s a lie.” She pointed to the ground far below them. “The people down there need help but so does Lena. Please, Linda.” _Please don’t make me do this._ “We can fix all of this. We just-”   
  
Even though she had been expecting a blow to come, Linda had moved too fast and Kara had been too distracted to block it completely. Her focus was split three ways between the city below, Linda and Lena. Kara felt Linda’s fist sink deep into her solar plexus. She doubled over, wheezing but recovered quickly enough to make some distance between the two of them, her hands still at her side.   
  
“There is no fixing this.” Linda’s voice had taken on a metallic edge from under the helmet and her head shook imperceptibly so as she looked down at the destruction below. “All of this is your fault. All of it.” Before Kara could get in another word she shot off into the sky, disappearing from view.   
  
Kara spared one look back over her shoulder in the direction that Linda had flown off before rapidly descending through the cloud cover to the street below. Her priorities hadn’t shifted in the slightest. Wherever Lena was where Kara Danvers needed to be and the burning, frightened city below her was where Supergirl needed to be. And Linda… Whatever role she had played in the disaster below mattered less to her than the idea of leaving her alone or allowing her to return to Lex’s side to allow him to poison her mind any further than he already had.   
  
She landed with enough force to crack the concrete, not that it was something she needed to worry about. The street around the decimated building was demolished. Several large chunks of concrete and asphalt lay upturned, jagged chunks of it sheared away in the force of the blast. A quick scan of the building revealed that there were no people trapped inside. It was a small victory but those always seemed the most important when facing disaster. There were people still trying to get clear from the zone that had sustained the most damage, several of them injured sporting varying injuries. In the chaos, she hadn’t noticed immediately how her mere presence had done little to calm the crowd, instead those that were trying to get clear from the blast zone did so more frantically.   
  


“Everybody get c-” Kara reached behind her instinctively without looking and caught a large piece of rubble that someone had thrown at her head. She looked from it to the person who had thrown it. A balding man with just the makings of middle age paunch still had his arm raised almost comically high. There was fear etched deeply in the lines of his face but it was hidden behind a mask of rage, one shared by several in the crowd behind him.  
  
“I always knew you were too good to be true. I knew it!” He knelt down clumsily and picked up another piece of rubble. He made as if to throw but hesitated, seeming to have lost his nerve. “Haven’t you… Haven’t you done enough.” He did not need to point anywhere in particular to make his point clear.   
  
“That wasn’t… I would never.” This was Lex. It _reeked_ of him. She had plenty of experience dealing with angry crowds which was why she knew just how precarious of a situation she was in. Even on her best day, she would have trouble calming an angry crowd when it appeared to them that she was somehow directly involved in what was happening. “I’m here to help.”   
  
“Is this what you call help?” a voice from the crowd called. The question was met with cheers.   
  
_Oh, Rao._ Kara took one small step backward. If she had more time she might be able to help them see reason, allow her to help them, but not now… Now she needed to make the best of a horrible situation. Instead of going to the aid of those that were injured she rose into the air and flew into the building through a broken window.   
  
There were a number of fires burning that she focused on extinguishing. The building was well beyond saving but she could stop the damage from spreading. Right now, that was all she could do… When Lex was involved sometimes it felt like that’s all she could ever do.   
  
Once the fires were out, she flew out through an upper window. From the outside, it was easy to tell that the integrity of the building had been compromised but looked as if it wasn’t in danger of falling. Another small victory and with the way the day was going, she needed to hold onto those more than ever. Her eyes settled on a huge gash along the side of the building that looked like a mortal wound. Her heat vision… Or more precisely, Linda’s. She spared the building one last look and sped back up into the sky, hating that Lex had been so successful in clipping her wings. There may have been some in the crowd that would have accepted her help but so many more that would have been against it. The anti-alien demonstrations had shown her firsthand just how hate could be both the fuse as well as the bomb itself. Her comm beeped and she tapped it quickly to open the line.   
  
“Alex, are you there?”   
  
“Kara, what the hell is going on? We’re getting reports of Supergirl attacking the city. Footage of you intimidating civilians. There are already a half dozen reports of you going rogue.”   
  
“It’s Lex. He’s using Linda to get to me. I don’t know what he told her to convince her but she was there. She flew off. You need to send J’onn and Dreamer to the bombsite. I can’t help… The best I could do was extinguish the fires. “ She sighed.   
  
“They’re already on their way. Kara. I’m almost at the prison, I have a team with me, we’ll find Lex and get him to talk.”   
  
“I’ll beat you there.”   
  
“Kara, don’t do anything-”   
  
Kara turned her comm off, her mouth set in a grim line as she flew faster. She cut a neat line through the clouds, cleaving them in two as she rushed towards the prison.   
  
“-rash…”

* * *

_Where are you going, Linda?_

The voice that asked the question had already done so dozens of times and each time she had no answer to silence it. Not that she didn't realize where she found herself being drawn to but admitting it out loud would make her all the more aware that she was going to the one place that Alex had forbidden her from going. Not that he had needed to. Lena had in her own small way betrayed her. She might not have been involved in the attempt on her life but she was far from blameless. But then again, neither was she… 

The fear in those people's faces. They kept swimming clearly into her mind's eye, how quickly their relief turned to abject terror, how they had looked at her as if she were a monster. Alex would be pleased, of course, and she knew that she should as well but it was so hard when she kept seeing that poor woman's face whenever she closed her eyes, the one who had held out her baby to her and then clutched her tight against her chest before running… 

Alex had called it a necessary evil and maybe it was but to Linda it just felt evil. Kara Danvers might have done wrong but the people of National City had only made the mistake of trusting the wrong person. Hadn't Linda been guilty of that as well? Twice? Maybe thrice… 

She had circled the same stretch of the city for the last ten minutes. She might have looked like a bird desperate to find a place to land if she hadn't been staring at the same building the whole time. She began to drift gradually lower not unlike a falling leaf, her descent slowed when she realized that she was still wearing the suit that Alex had made for her. She tapped the Kaznian symbol on her chest and retracted her helmet while she hovered level with the balcony outside of Lena's office. 

Her face fell when she realized that Lena's office was empty. That didn't stop her from sliding the door open and slipping inside. Maybe this was better, she told herself. If Lena was here, wouldn't she just lie again, and regardless of how egregious the lie, wouldn't Linda want to believe her? Of course, she would, because above all else, she wanted to know that everything today hadn't been all for naught, that there was however slim a chance that she could get the only thing she truly desired… 

She walked around Lena's desk and was surprised to see a mess of papers spread out over the floor. Stacks of papers arranged hodgepodge and what looked like… 

"Photos of Kaznia."

She bent low and scooped up the small pile. The picture on top wouldn't have looked like anything but a small stretch of a forest but Linda recognized it at once. She had trained there. Learned how to shut out all the noise that she had been worried might drive her mad. It was where she had learned the depths of her strength and the next picture in the set showed what little remained of the forest after her training. 

_Were you spying on me, Lena?_

She set the photos down, resisting the urge to rake her gaze across them the same way she had the building and the ground in front of the people who had looked to her for help. Another photo came skittering out that she had seen before. 

"The Harun-El?" _How much did Lena know?_ she wondered. She groped for a notebook that lay open on the floor beside a messy stack of papers, unable to stop herself from digging deeper even though all she had found so far was more pain. A part of her believed she deserved it for what she did today. 

The handwriting was immaculately neat, almost minuscule. The handwriting of someone who intentionally wrote small because they had so much to say. It was Lena's. She didn't know how she knew but she did. That made her pause, basking in the bittersweetness of the few memories they had made together but it was the phrase scrawled at the top of the page that coaxed an audible gasp from her. 

"Ways to help Linda?" 

There were several crossed out entries but not to such a degree that they were illegible. She could make out every single one. 

  1. _Find her a place to stay (offer to let her stay with me in the meantime)_
  2. _Procure her a real ID and passport_
  3. _Bring her to a game night_
  4. _Take her book shopping_
  5. _Give her tour of the city (focus on cafes and restaurants)_



She only realized that she was crying when two fat tears slid down her nose and splashed onto the notebook. Linda blinked, wiping clumsily at the marks left on the page. She made to set it aside, not wanting to risk staining it with any more tears when she stopped. Below the list in all uppercase and far blockier so that it took up almost a whole line by itself and underlined for emphasis. 

**DESTROY HARUN-EL**

"Destroy it?"

Another message was crammed into the margins beside it. 

_Poses risk to both Linda and Kara until a method is found to prevent another split or God forbid a merge._

Is that why Alex had wanted it? To prevent whatever Lena seemed to fear. A split? A merge? Maybe… And Linda was sure that if she asked him about it he would respond exactly that way, that it had been to keep her safe… But why keep it then? Why go through the trouble of stealing it when it would have been so much easier to destroy it? More pressing was why Lena would go through the trouble preparing a plan to help her when she had deceived her, tried to kill her? Unless she hadn't… 

She looked around the office and carefully tore the list from the notebook and folded it carefully into a neat square and stowed it in a hidden pocket of her suit, exiting the same way she had come in.

* * *

 _I should have come here first._   
  
_Don’t be rash._   
  
Those two thoughts vied for attention as Kara touched down in front of the prison. Two sides of the same coin. Patience and impatience. Caution and recklessness. Love and duty. Alex had tried to remind her to be cautious and any other time that would have been enough to steady her if Lena weren’t a part of the equation. 

  
If word of what had happened in the city hadn’t yet reached the prison, Kara knew she could have been escorted back to Lex’s cell with no issue. Even if there were a few guards in his pocket (which at that point was a given) they would have never been able to keep her out for long. But if they believed that she had been involved with the bomb that had gone off in the city, getting them to agree to anything would be difficult which only made her decision to use her superspeed to bypass every door and lock that separated Lex from the outside world far easier. Seeing him curled up on his bed with a book open on his lap almost coaxed a mirthless chuckle from her. Whatever this was, Kara knew that this wasn’t an attempt at appearing innocent, it was a taunt.   
  
“Where is she, Lex?”   
  
“I don’t remember putting you on my visitor’s list, Supergirl.” He didn’t look up from his book. He licked his index finger and turned the page of his book, his eyes scanning over the page lazily before finally looking up. “Do you have permission to be here?”   
  
“I’m not in the mood for games, Lex. What have you done with Lena?”   
  
Lex set his book aside, carefully wedging a bookmark between the pages and set it down on his bed before walking closer to the bars to peer out at Kara. “She came by to visit. She was ranting about something that she believed I had done. I’ll be happy to tell you the same thing that I told her. I’m flattered that you think I’m capable of something like that all while under lock and key. People call me paranoid.” He grinned and leaned against the bars of his cell, peering out at her.   
  
Kara took one step closer to Lex’s cell and paused. She could hear the sound of approaching footsteps. Guards coming to see just why Supergirl had appeared on the security feed for Lex’s cell. She would gladly give them the whole story, even allow herself to be taken into custody if that’s what they thought she deserved… _After_ Lena was safe. Her eyes glowed red for a fraction of a second, the heavy lock melting and twisting into something that resembled a Salvador Dali painting.   
  
“Oh, if that courtroom could see you now. Maybe they wouldn’t have been so quick to lock me up and throw away the key.” Lex grinned, an act that looked unnatural, his lips stretching to reveal perfectly white teeth. “You know, as an older brother, you’re always worried about the kind of date you’re little sister might bring home. Never in a million years did I ever think she might bring home a Kryptonian.”   
  
Kara stepped closer to the bars. It would have been all too easy for her to pull them apart, to pull _him_ apart… That was always the problem. Keeping her strength in check, making sure to never let herself succumb to what was easy. “If you’ve hurt her, Lex…”   
  
“Lena made a very similar threat. I know her well enough to know that it was far from an empty one. If you haven’t noticed by now, goading Lena is a surefire way to get her to disobey. But you… So self-righteous and willing to turn the other cheek, I really don’t think you have it in you to go through with it.”

He drew himself up and looked at her the way one may appraise a piece of modern art. “But I’ve been audience to just how much the illusion of love can change people,” he scoffed. “It’s a powerful motivator. When I found myself in here, it took me a few days to find a price fair enough to get the warden to look the other way when I needed a bit of privacy. Expensive, but considering my options… But now I don’t have to pay him anything at all and do you know why? If his husband found out that he was lining their pockets with my dirty money?” He shrugged. “Who knows if their marriage could survive it. I still need him and I think he knows that but he’s too afraid to play that card because he’s too afraid of losing what he loves most. And that’s why I know that you won’t touch me. Because if anything happens to me then how can you be sure that Lena isn’t hurt or… God forbid…   
  
“You’ll talk,” Kara said. The hammering on the door was louder now. She barely heard the shouting from the other side. A number of heavy thuds rattled the door and she knew that the guards were throwing themselves against it. They might get in eventually but not soon enough. Acting in such a way would be playing right into Lex’s hand. Whatever footage of downtown that they had caught of Linda would be more than damning enough but breaking Lex out of jail? It would make earning the city’s trust back that much more difficult but that was a problem for another day. One where Lena would be safe and by her side.   
  
“Wherever you’ve hidden Lena and whatever lies you told Linda, I’ll find out.” She reached down and grabbed at the door and pulled it free, tossing it aside. The reverberating clang was deafening and the sound made the yelling on the other side of the door only increase in volume. “You’re coming with me back to the DEO.”

* * *

  
Alex had told her to return to his side once she had done what she had needed to do in the city. For once, she was happy to comply without the slightest doubt of disobeying. Not to hear the next part of his plan and certainly not to let him apologize again for lying to her but to ask him why Lena would be so intent on helping her if she had betrayed her. 

  
Her hand drifted over the pocket where she had placed the list that Lena had made. It should have made her happy but it only made the guilt eating away at her for what she had done in the city that much more persistent. _I would understand if you hate me, Lena,_ she thought. It would be logical and perhaps what she deserved. But she would try to explain… Try to make things right if she could.   
  
Every lesson that Alex had ever given her had ended with the same warning, repeated so often that it had become a mantra that she had at least _tried_ to live by. To stay hidden and to be cautious. It was how Alex played chess. His opening game always looked so weak, so timid. Only after enough time had passed did she realize that he had been in control the entire time. Maybe that was true about everything.   
  
She could see the small postage-stamp-sized window that they sometimes conversed through when Alex thought it too risky to leave the prison. She focused on that, flying straight towards it. She stretched out one arm almost lazily and crashed easily through it, a grim smile spreading across her face at the thought of Alex being upset at her choice of entrance.   
  
It took only a moment for the proverbial dust to settle. She expected to see Alex staring back at her. Anger or maybe fear etched on his face. What she had not expected was to see Kara Danvers holding him tightly by the wrist.   
  
“What are you doing here?” Her eyes widened and she stepped closer. She watched Kara let go of Alex, looking just as shocked at seeing Linda burst through the wall as she had been to find her in Alex’s cell.   
  
“Linda. Thank Rao.”   
  
“I need to talk to Alex,” she said and pushed past Kara. She met her gaze and looked away guiltily. “He lied to me.” She bared her teeth and felt a grim sense of satisfaction as she watched him scramble backward towards his bed.   
  
“We can go together,” Kara said. “I was just about to take him to the DEO. I can explain everything there, I promise.”   
  
“I was beginning to think that you would never show up.” Lex held up a small remote and pressed a small silver button on its front.   
  
Linda took another step towards Alex, her eyes narrowed suspiciously when she felt the helmet of her suit re-engage. She reached for him and found her vision blurred by a brilliant shade of red. 

* * *

  
  
“Linda?” Kara was alarmed to see Linda stumble and grabbed for her arm, keeping her upright. She looked from her to Lex and to the remote in his hand. “What did you do?”   
  
“Red kryptonite,” he said silkily. “Well, not exactly that. It’s a mutation of sorts. My own creation. All the fun symptoms, hostility, aggression, severe lack of morality, or patience of any kind but with one big difference. Making them highly susceptible to suggestion. With a concentrated enough dose, there can even be very vivid hallucinations and considering that it’s being pumped into her suit…” He shook his head. "She really doesn't stand a chance."  
  
“Linda,” Kara said. She took her by the shoulders and gripped them tightly. “You need to fight it. You need to fight, Lex."   
  
“She can’t hear you,” he said looking at Kara almost pityingly. He held up the remote and tossed it aside. “But she can hear the fake news reports of my dear sister’s tragic demise at the hands of Supergirl I programmed into her suit. He grinned. “What do you think she’ll do to you when she thinks that you’re the one who stole what she loves most in this world? A better question, what will you do, Kara?”   
  
“Linda,” Kara said, trying to keep her voice steady. “If you can hear me-”   
  
“Murderer!” Linda growled. She grabbed Kara by the neck and squeezed hard before throwing her with enough force to send her through the wall that she had already made a sizeable hole in, flying after her. 


	18. Checkmate

For all the precautions and training that Lena had to prevent a kidnapping, she had never learned how to slip her hand free of handcuffs. It looked so easy in the movies but after nearly twenty minutes of trying to yank her wrist free, she had only succeeded in rubbing her wrist raw enough to draw blood. For one grim moment, Lena had wondered if it would have made slipping her hand free any easier but that too proved fruitless.    
  
She changed tactics, taking a brief moment to gaze at the yellowish bruise that was snaking higher up her wrist and plant her feet against the wall for leverage. Taking a deep shuddering breath she tried not to let her mind dwell on Kara’s offer to accompany her to visit Lex. She’d happily spend the next several days kicking herself for once again underestimating the depths that Lex was willing to stoop. Once she knew that Kara and Linda were safe then she could begin doling out the blame she thought she so rightfully deserved.    
  
Lena took a deep breath and felt a painful throb that shot through her wrist and down into her arm. “Fuck,” she hissed, squaring her feet as best she could before doing a quick count from three in her head. On one, she yanked hard, hearing two things: the steady patter of blood as the handcuff cut deeper into her wrist and the whine of metal as it began to give. Not believing she had enough strength in her to yank again, she continued to pull. She heard the metal frame of the cot give another yowl and the part of the frame she was cuffed to tore free from itself, rusted screws flying off into opposite corners of the tiny cell.    
  
“Finally,” she panted. A look of grim satisfaction settled on her face. She struggled to her feet, hefting up the part of the cot still attached to the bit of headboard that had come loose, dragging it behind her feeling very much like Jacob Marley as she eyed the small window that was almost perfectly eye level. Tightening her grip on the headboard she carefully maneuvered it over her head and brought it down against the window, hearing the satisfying crash of glass that she had been hoping for.   
  
“Hey!”    
  
Lena heard the hurried approach of footsteps and wasn’t at all surprised to see the same guard that had led her into the prison come rushing to the window, stepping over and on top of broken glass, crunching it underfoot.    
  
“What the hell did you do?” His face flickered between indignation when he gazed at the broken window to worry when he saw the state of Lena’s wrist. “You’re not getting out until Mr. Luthor gives the go-ahead.” Once again he eyed her wrist. “It shouldn’t be long now.”   
  
“It’s tempting, isn’t it? Taking Lex’s money.”    
  
“Don’t know what you’re-”   
  
“You’re not stupid. You do know that once Lex gets what he wants you’ll be nothing more than a loose end that needs to be clipped.”   
  
“Enough!” The guard poked a finger through the broken window, narrowly avoiding catching his finger on a particularly jagged bit of glass. “Sit back down and be quiet.”   
  
“And on the very slim chance that he does actually intend to honor whatever agreement you’ve made, what do you think he’ll do to you when he sees the state that I’m in when you were tasked with guarding me?” She held up her wrist, wincing slightly.   
  
“That wasn’t my fault!” He looked to be on the verge of another outburst when Lena saw him take another look at her wrist and watch as he seemed to deflate.   
  
“Do you really think that Lex will care?” She shook her head and fixed the guard with a pitying stare. “You were dead the moment you took his money. But I have a proposition for you.” She didn’t wait for him to say either way whether he was interested or not, starting in at once. “Lex will want you dead but even his reach has its limits. I can keep you safe, set you up with a life far out of his reach. You must have had a reason for taking the money in the first place.” She was careful not to call it a bribe, not wanting to tip the already unbalanced scales back in Lex’s favor. It was not all that different from placating a particularly stubborn client with an overly lavish business dinner. An all too expensive bottle of wine and enough ego-stroking to make her lose sleep over later.    
  
“I have a girlfriend. We’re expecting…”    
  
“Congratulations,” Lena said, without a hint of sarcasm of derision in her voice. “I understand why you would do it but it’s not just yourself that you’ve put in the crosshairs, you  _ have  _ to know that.”    
  
It appeared that he did know that.  _ Now.  _ His mouth opened into something resembling a silent scream and Lena had to resist the urge to snap her fingers to try and get his attention, waiting for him to come down on his own without her assistance.    
  
“What can I do?” he asked, the expression on his face making him look more like a frightened child than a prison guard that had let his body go to seed.    
  
Lena let out a small sigh of relief before she answered. “First, you can uncuff me,” she said, grimacing. “And make it quick.”   


* * *

  
  
Linda’s blow hadn’t exactly caught Kara off guard but it still stung and as she righted herself in the air, she had just enough to maneuver around a vicious blow that would have connected with her head if she had been any slower.    
  
She came to a stop in midair, holding her hands out in a warding off gesture, not wanting to fight. “Please, Linda, you need to fight it. Whatever you’re seeing, whatever you’re hearing, it isn’t real. Lena came to see Lex and I don’t know what happened to her after that.”   
  
“You stole her from me.” Her voice shook and Linda’s shoulders slumped, dipping a foot in the air as if she had lost the strength to keep herself afloat. “She loved you and you killed her.”    
  
“No! I would never hurt, Lena. You have to know that, Linda. Please..."   
  
“Enough lies!” Linda rose into the air, high above Kara, diving down and tackling Kara with another force to send both of them hurtling towards the ground. Her hands scrabbled for something to grab onto and closed around Kara’s wrists.   
  
Kara knew that she could withstand Linda’s fury for a time. She knew just how strong that Linda was as well as how durable she would be against it. She was worried however about the collateral damage that would come about from the two of them fighting. If she allowed their fight to spill over into the city… Well, she didn’t want to think about how much destruction they could cause if Kara wasn’t able to talk her down from her Kryptonite-induced rage.    
  
She felt herself slam into the ground with enough force to instantly create a miniature crater beneath her. It was strong enough to knock the wind from her lungs. Before Linda had a chance to take another swing at her, she pushed off with her legs, sending a sonic boom ripping through the air as she twisted herself free of Linda’s grip.  _ Need to get somewhere with no people,  _ she thought. Much preferring a chase than dodging more blows from Linda, she took off straight up into the air before flying away from the city, not bothering to watch her speed, knowing that Linda’s rage wouldn’t give her the luxury of doing so.    
  
She turned back just once to see Linda following along behind her. The two were flying in near-perfect sync and even over the roar of the wind as they flew onward, she heard Linda’s threats as clearly as she was right beside her whispering them in her ear. She tried to keep those gnawing thoughts at bay, the ones that were as relentlessly persistent as Linda was in pursuit of her. The ones that made her consider the possibility that Lex really had done something to Lena and if that were true, then Linda’s accusations would at least ring partially true.    
  
_ I know you’re alive, Lena. And I think Linda does too…  _   


* * *

  
  
The guard had offered to help bandage Lena’s wrist and while it had been tempting as she felt the endorphins that had done such a good job of masking the pain fading, she had refused. Not only did the guard look as if he wanted to be anywhere but the prison, Lena had no time to spare. They had already given Lex far too much time to plot and plan without any interference and now all those plans were bearing fruit…    
  
She had him escort her to where Lex was and wasn’t at all surprised when he led her far away from his cell, past a number of guards who looked at her suspiciously but made no efforts to stop either of them. They would have if they weren’t all in Lex’s pocket but with all the favors and errands that Lex had them running for him, they were being paid not to think, not to question why his sister was being escorted through the prison sporting a mangled wrist.    
  
“He’s in there,” the guard said, pointing down a long hallway towards a closed door. “He’s  _ always  _ in there.”    
  
“Figures.” She held out her hand and took the scrap of paper and pen that he held out to her. She scribbled down a routing number with her left hand in a sloppier script than usual as well as the name of a hotel in Hub City that she knew would be the safest place for him short of leaving the country.    
  
“Thank you,” he said in a low voice, looking from the scrap of paper in his hand to the door at the far end of the hall. “I- I’m sorry,” he said. “It was a lot of money.”   
  
The expression on Lena’s face turned stonier. “Take it from another Luthor. No amount of money is worth selling your soul over. Be better. If not for your own sake than for your girlfriend, for your child.”   
  
He looked away, clearly ashamed. “I will.” He looked at her wrist again. “There’s a first aid kit just down the hall, I can get it for you if you like.”   
  
Lena’s expression softened and she shook her head. “Just that,” she said and she held out her left hand again.    
  
The guard stared at her, almost appearing to size her up before reaching down and undoing the button on his holster, handing over his gun, moving Lena’s finger in a bid to keep it as far away from the trigger as possible. “Have you ever… Do you know how to shoot?”   
  
“Go,” she said. “You’ve more than lived up to your side of our arrangement, not answering his question either way.    
  
He nodded quickly, stowing the scrap of paper in his pocket, checked that it was there and turned on his heel, and walked back the way he came at a brisk pace. Lena watched him go, counted to three, and opened the door.   
  
“Lena.”   
  
Even without the gun pointed at him, Lena was pleased to see that there was a note of surprise in his voice (however faint) that made it obvious that while he may have made a plan in the eventuality that Lena find a way out of her cell, he hadn’t been worried enough to guard against it, not when he had already started his victory lap.    
  
“Did you somehow escape yourself?” he asked, looking at her wrist. “Or did somebody help you? How much did you pay them?” His eyes narrowed to near slits. “You always were a bit too generous to your employees.” He raised his hands lazily up near his head and slowly reached out to turn the small monitor he had been watching towards her. “You’re just in time, any later and you might have missed it.”   
  
Lena was careful to keep one eye on Lex as she kept the gun leveled at his chest, glancing at the monitor, her mouth opening so wide that she instinctively raised her hand to clamp over it and winced.    
  
“Poetic, isn’t it?” They’ll destroy each other, probably. To be honest, my money’s on Red Daughter. Kara isn’t putting up much of a fight.” He tutted. “Shame, really. I was hoping for something much more biblical.”    
  
Lena watched in horror as she watched Linda launch herself towards Kara, little more than a blur before Kara was sent flying backward, Linda in hot pursuit, intercepting her and throwing her in a completely different direction. “What did you do, Lex?” she spat.    
  
“Not much.” He smiled and gazed at the monitor for a moment before elaborating. “I modified some Red Kryptonite that’s currently being pumped through her suit’s ventilation systems. Made a few fake news broadcasts detailing the tragic death of my dear sister. I'm sure she thinks that she's avenging you right now."   
  
“You’re gaslighting her. Lying to her. Again. Is that all you know how to do, Lex?”   
  
Lex looked offended at the accusation, his head tilting slightly to the left. “It’s a  _ bit  _ more complicated than that. If you had any idea how difficult everything was to oversee...” He looked back at the monitor, grinning. “But this, it almost makes it all worth it.”   
  
Lena clicked the safety off, still watching the monitor out of the corner of her eye. “You did this to her which means you can stop it.”   
  
“Lena… You and I both know that you aren’t going to shoot me and it’s far too late anyway. Another few minutes and Supergirl will be dead if she insists on not defending herself. It’s-”   
  
The first shot rang out, blowing a substantial hole in the monitor sending shards of glass flying outward.  _ That did it,  _ Lena thought grimly, the thin line her mouth had stretched in briefly stretching into something resembling a smile seeing Lex’s mask not just slip but shatter, revealing the coward beneath. 

He would rally quick enough. Lex had bore Superman’s anger more times than she could count and had shown little in the way of fear. Not that it was all that surprising. Lex had once known Clark quite well and no matter how much he ranted about Superman’s inevitable turn to darkness, he knew that Superman would never kill him because whether he could admit it to himself or not, Superman was a good person just as Kara was like Linda was… Lena on the other hand had always strived to do good but her methods (especially when standing shoulder to shoulder with Supergirl) were far more morally grey. It was so often the source of Kara and her butting heads over how they operated. The neverending battle between a calculating pragmatist and a hope-filled optimist that had somehow found themselves falling for the other. 

  
Lena moved the gun a few inches to the right and felt Lex’s eyes searching for her own as she did. She fired once and thought for one brief moment that she had missed until she saw Lex clap a hand over his arm, blood beginning to seep out from between his fingers.    
  
Lex’s mouth moved without any sound actually coming out, closed again, and then let out a roar of pain that made Lena jump. His mouth had been turned downward in a disapproving frown that slowly turned upside down into a sneer that Lena had seen him make thousands of times. “Didn’t think you had it in you.” He lifted his hand just enough to peek underneath carefully. “Are you going to kill me, Lena?” The shock and anger that had colored his voice were already beginning to fade, replaced by something bordering on amusement.    
  
“If I have to.”   
  
“For love?” he spat and fixed her with a look of extreme sadness. “I thought you knew better than that. Love is valueless.”   
  
“Not to me.” She shook her head dismissively. “Stop all of this now, Lex, or I kill you right here and now.”   
  
“I’ll still win.” He had begun to pant, the sleeve of his prison uniform stained a deep shade of crimson. “At least one of them  _ will  _ die.”   
  
“You’re more than willing to sacrifice everyone else for your plans, Lex, but never yourself. Three seconds.” She leveled the gun to Lex’s chest. Before she could even begin to count down in her head, Lex held out one hand in front of him and waved it slowly.    
  
“Wait.” Very slowly, he slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the remote. He looked from the gun in Lena’s hand to Lena herself. He let out a beleaguered sigh and pressed a small silver button on the side, holding it down until there was a loud chirp. “It’s done, you can put the gun down.”    
  
“Not yet,” Lena said. She looked up, wondering if she should try calling out when she felt a rush of wind that blew her hair around her head in a corona before settling down around her shoulders and saw Kara standing in front of her. It was such a relief to see her whole and unharmed in front of her that she felt her knees buckle.   
  
“I should have had you come with me,” Lena said, smiling weakly.    
  
“I’m so sorry, Lena…” Kara quickly enveloped her in a hug that she broke at once when Lena winced, her wrist throbbing painfully.    
  
“You’re hurt.” Kara reached down and gingerly lifted Lena’s arm to get a better look. “Did he do this to you?” Her eyes flashed dangerously and she whipped around to face Lex, taking an ominous step towards him.   
  
“No! I hurt myself getting free. He handcuffed me, wanted me out of the way…” Lena turned to the now open door, leaning a bit to peer further down the hall. “Where’s Linda?”    
  
Kara’s face fell and she looked away quickly. “I’m sorry, Lena…”   
  
Lex sat up a bit straighter in his chair, still clutching tight to his arm. “I win,” he said, slumping back over, whatever strength he had been able to muster quickly leaving him. “All of that posturing, Lena, for  _ nothing. _ ”    
  
Lena had raised the gun again without realizing it, could hear blood thundering in her ears like the steady beat of war drums. Her finger crept closer to the trigger when Kara stepped between them which made Lena’s arm go slack at once, big, fat tears rolling down her face. “Move, Kara,” she pleaded. “Please, move.”   
  
“Did you win, Lex?” Kara advanced on him. “Linda listened to you, cared for you. She trusted you completely. Do you think that’s winning?”   
  
“Save me the lecture and get me a doctor.”   
  
“She knew nothing, remembered nothing and you exploited her, pretended to care for her. You made her believe that you wanted what was best for her.”   
  
“A pale imitation,” Lex panted. “Even less than that.    
  
“She was not!” Lena roared. She tried to get past Kara and to Lex. “She was kind and caring and curious. She deserved so much more…” What use was there in trying to explain to Lex just what a beautiful soul that Linda was when he had never once seen beauty in anything but power? And why couldn’t she stop herself from trying all the same? “She deserved to find people who would care for her and not stumble across someone like you.”   
  


"Having to act as if she meant anything at all to me, you can’t imagine how hard it was. Making her believe that she was anything to me except a tool to make people finally realize what kind of threat that Kryptonians pose to us, but she did prove useful in the end, even if she couldn’t kill you. How long until the city turns against you, Supergirl? If they haven’t already. Until they start to fear you when they see you swooping down from the heavens?”    
  
“Not long,” Kara said softly. “The world will know that the person responsible for what happened in the city was an impostor to discredit Supergirl. They’ll trust again… Especially when they know that you were the one pulling the strings.”   
  
Lex smirked. “So quick to throw your Franken-twin under the bus after putting her down. That’s cold, Supergirl.”    
  
For as livid with Lex, as Lena was, a part of her did agree. It _ was  _ cold. It hadn’t been Linda’s fault. Whatever had happened, whatever she had done, it was Lex’s doing   
  
“It’s the truth,” Kara said baldly. “I know what a foreign concept that is for you, Alex. You were never honest with me, not once. Not until today.”    
  
_ Alex?  _ Lena stopped staring daggers at Lex to look at Kara,  _ really  _ look at her.  _ It couldn’t be.  _ “Linda? Is that you?”   
  
Kara turned to her and bowed her head. “I did say that I was sorry, Lena,” that unmistakable accent bleeding through in her voice. She smiled shyly and it became all that much easier to differentiate her from Kara.    
  
“I am too.” Kara poked her head in the door dressed in her civilian clothes, pushing her glasses higher up on her nose. She was sporting a rather deep cut on her forehead that already looked to be healing and appeared to be walking more gingerly but appeared not all that worse for the wear. “It was actually my idea, so if you want to be mad at anyone, I’m your girl.”   
  
_ You’ll always be my girl.  _ “I can be mad at both of you,” Lena muttered. Too relieved at seeing both Kara and Linda both relatively unharmed to even pretend to be upset.    
  
“Kara thought I should hear the truth with my own ears.” She turned to Lex, advancing on him and pushing him with enough force that the wooden chair he was seated on skidded across the floor, squealing as it did and shattering into what resembled kindling, sending him tumbling into a heap on the ground.   
  
"I should kill you for what you did to me, Alex. For what you tried to do to all of us." She advanced on him and picked him up effortlessly from up off the floor, grabbing hold of him by his collar and lifting him up so that his feet left the ground completely. "It's what you would expect of me, is it not?" Her eyes flashed red and she brought him closer to her so that they were almost nose to nose before dropping him hard onto the ground. "But if I did that, I would never be rid of you. I wouldn't be better than you." She sneered and turned her back on him.   
  
"You will _never_ be-"  
  
There was another localized squall that gusted around them. Lena blinked and in an instant, Lex and Kara both disappeared and in another, Kara was back beside her, smiling sheepishly. "I think Lex has talked enough for one day." She pointed slyly towards her left. "I put him in an empty cell until the DEO can come to pick him up. They'll make sure he doesn't get to move around so freely anymore..."   
  
Lena opened her mouth to speak when both Kara and Linda rushed to her side, both of them with the same worried expression on their face. "We need to get you to a hospital," Kara said.   
  
"I'm f-"  
  
"You are not fine," Kara and Linda said in unison.  
  
Lena blinked and had to fight the urge to burst out into a fit of nervous laughter. "I'm not fine," she admitted, biting her lip to stop herself from wincing as she lifted her arm to get a better look at her wrist.   
  
"The DEO should be here soon... I'll wait for them, keep an eye on the prison, and Lex, make sure he doesn't try and pull another disappearing act. Could you take Lena to the hospital, Linda?"   
  
"I- You trust me, after everything that happened?" She looked confused, almost wary at the possibility. "I hurt both of you so much..."  
  
"Of course we do," Lena said. "Don't you dare try and overthink it."  
  
"What she said," Kara said and smiled. "Fly safe though, precious cargo," she said and beamed at Lena." She pointed at Linda and then to herself. "I am going to need my suit back though. Trade you?"  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry in advance if the fakeout scared anybody. Thanks for reading and I hope you continue to enjoy the story as we near the finish line.


	19. Crossroads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Free to deal with the fallout, Lena must confront a truth that has been simmering at the back of her mind for a very long time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _"Just close your eyes, the sun is going down_  
>  You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now  
> Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound"
> 
> -Taylor Swift Safe & Sound

Even without Kara’s warning, the only way that Linda could have flown with Lena was safe. They flew without talking for a time, Linda's mouth set into a firm line, keeping them just high enough to make it difficult for anyone to see them from the ground, not that Linda was all too worried about that. Getting Lena medical attention was her one and only priority, everything else could come after and that was what was so uncertain… The after.    
  
The hospital waiting room was full to bursting when they stepped inside and the collective eyes of everyone in the room turned to them and then back to their starting positions. Most of them were sporting injuries of varying severity. With her X-ray vision, Linda could tell that at least a dozen of them were nursing broken limbs. She felt a hot ball of guilt sliding even deeper into the pit of her stomach that threatened to nest there. Linda might have let it do so if Lena’s condition didn’t seem to be worsening, her already pale face somehow losing even more color.    
  
“Lena?”   
  
“Fine,” she said weakly and managed a small smile. “I’m fine.”   
  
_ Not fine.  _   
  
Picking her up as gently as she could and not hearing even a peep of protest from her, she walked her to a nurse who looked dead on her feet already. “We’re doing our best to see everybody as quickly as we-”   
  
“She needs to see a doctor right away.” She turned slightly to give the nurse a better look at just how severe Lena’s wound was.    
  
“Come with me,” the nurse said, that cloud of weariness that hung over the nurse’s head like a pernicious fog cleared somewhat and she snapped her fingers to get the attention of another nurse and pointed to Lena before holding open the door for the both of them. The nurse charged ahead, poking her head into several rooms, walking briskly before snapping her fingers again and pointing. “In here.”   
  
Linda squeezed past the nurse, setting Lena down into a chair before wheeling back around to face the nurse. “Now what?”   
  
“A doctor will be in soon. She’s definitely going to need stitches and quite a few of them but she’ll be fine. In the meantime, I’m going to need you to wait outside for now.”

“No! Why?”    
  
“We’re a little full up at the moment, Miss.” The nurse’s face had turned somewhat stony but it broke ever so slightly upon seeing just how heartbroken Linda looked. “We need the room for other patients. I promise you she’s in good hands. Is she your wife?”   
  
Linda’s cheeks went pink and she leaned closer to Lena. “Will you be alright here alone?”    
  
Lena smiled a little brighter and gave Linda’s arm a weak squeeze. “Of course, I will. You’ll be right outside.”   
  
Linda nodded. “Of course, I will. I won’t go anywhere else.”   
  
The wait seems excruciatingly long and while Linda had sat down in a miraculously empty chair facing away from the only clock in the waiting room she couldn’t stop herself from stealing glances at it, so sure that it had to be broken with how slow the minute hand was moving that she was tempted to ask one of the nurses if they could give her the time when she felt a tap on her shoulder. 

The stony-faced nurse was back, somehow looking even more tired and for good reason. There had been a fairly steady trickle of patients going in and out of the doors but the number of people in the waiting room never seemed to actually shrink, most of the chairs still occupied and some of them muttering darkly whenever one of their neighbors was called back instead of them.    
  
“Come on back, dear. Make it quick.”    
  
Linda didn’t need telling twice, already out of her chair and keeping pace with the nurse, careful not to overtake her.    
  
“She’s fine,” the nurse said without Linda having to ask. “Lost a fair amount of blood and her wound might scar.” She waggled a hand out in front of her like she wasn’t ready to commit one way or the other. “Doctor can tell you more,” she said and pointed to the room further down the hall. “I need to get back. Just come back out-” her voice died in her throat as she watched Linda run past her so fast that it made her already flyaway looking hair look even messier.    
  
Linda squeezed past an empty gurney that had been left in the hall, her feet leaving the ground for a couple of seconds, coming to a very abrupt halt right in front of the door and poking her head in, relieved to see Lena sitting upright and with a bit more color in her cheeks although still looking tired.   
  
“Lena…”   
  
“Hey.” She smiled and waved her over with her other arm.   
  
Linda took a few careful steps into the room, the weak smile on her face flickered and then disappeared completely when she saw the jagged crisscross of stitches that ran up and down Lena’s wrist, tears welling in her eyes.   
  
“Lex did this,” Lena said sharply. The slightly dreamy expression on her face was replaced by a stern one that didn’t waver while she stared back at Linda. “He’s to blame, no one else.”   
  
“But-”   
  
“No buts.” She shook her head and fixed Linda with a look that might have chilled her to the bone if not for the warm smile that spread across her face a moment later.   
  
“I don’t suggest arguing with her,” the doctor said, his own mouth fixed into a thin line of concentration. “I would have liked to keep her overnight for observation to be on the safe side but-”   
  
“I’m too stubborn,” Lena offered. “And what we were discussing earlier?”   
  
“We can iron out the details later if you promise me that you’ll rest.”   
  
“That I can do,” Lena said and pointed once more to the seat beside hers.    
  
Linda gave a small nod and slid into the seat beside her, smiling nervously. “You’re really OK?”   
  
“She will be,” the doctor said. He stood up, grabbed the chart off the end of the examination table. At his full height, he looked somewhat hawk-like, and with the way he was holding his pen it made his hand look like a talon. “She has a very nasty contusion,” he said, pointing to her wrist and forearm that was already speckled a deep shade of purple, tinged with a sickly looking yellow. “No internal bleeding though. The laceration is worrisome. You’ll need to keep an eye on it. Any increased pain, fever, or discharge from the wound and you’ll need to pay me another visit. For now,” he said carefully. “It should be fine. Are you right-handed or left-handed Miss Luthor?”    
  
“I’ll manage,” she said.   
  
“I have no doubt about that.” He regarded her, scribbled something down on a tiny pad, and handed it to Linda. “Prescription for pain. Use it judiciously and make sure she gets some bed rest. Lots of it if you can manage.”   
  
“She  _ will  _ rest,” Linda assured him. “I’ll take her home right away.”   
  
“Second-best place she could be,” he said and smiled. “I do have other patients.”   
  
“Don’t let us keep you.” Lena stood up. “Home sounds  _ really  _ good right about now.” 

* * *

  
By the time that Linda touched down on Lena’s balcony, she had already drifted off a number of times, her head settling into the crook of Linda’s shoulder and each time she had forced herself awake and no amount of coaxing from Linda would convince her to let her doze.   
  
“The doctor said you needed bed rest.”   
  
“This is bed rest,” Lena said, sitting with her back against the headboard, looking almost defiant.    
  
“You need sleep,” Linda said sternly.   
  
“Only if you promise me something.” Lena sat up straighter, in what Linda guessed was a last-ditch attempt to stop her from nodding off again.    
  
“Anything.”   
  
“Promise that you won’t go anywhere while I’m asleep.” She reached out and grasped Linda’s wrist tightly. “Especially after you and Kara scared me half-to-death.” She tried to smile but ended up blinking back tears that she hastily tried to wipe away. “Stay.”   
  
Did Lena know? Did she know that the thought about leaving while she slept had crossed Linda’s mind? Not to run away but to force herself into a kind of exile. The thought hadn’t had time to form into anything more than the vague formless shadow of an idea but it had been there all the same. 

  
“Promise me,” Lena insisted, her eyes still shining brightly from the tears she had brushed hastily away.   
  
“I think that’s cheating,” Linda whispered to herself before nodding. “I promise I won’t go anywhere, Lena. I will be here when you wake up.” She pointed back towards the living room. “If you need anything, just call.” She was close to rattling off a list of things that Lena might need when she realized that Lena had already drifted off.    
  
For a while, Linda wasn’t sure for how long exactly, she sat in Lena’s kitchen, hunched over her table, her hands clasped nervously in front of her. With Lena safe and resting, there was no more worry to impede the feelings of guilt that licked at her like hot flames. She may have agreed with Lena that Alex deserved to shoulder the blame for what had happened today, but it didn’t completely absolve her, especially not when she could still recall so vividly how the people in the city had run from her. How fast their hearts had been beating… She was complicit…    
  
Her chair scraped against the floor and she found herself standing, her hands clenched into fists.  _ You promised,  _ a voice reminded her.  _ You promised, Lena.  _   
  
Lena…

She was the reason that she needed to stay and she was also the reason that she wanted so much to go. Did Lena know everything? Did she know just how much damage that Alex’s scheme had caused? How much pain? And if she didn’t, what would she think when she did find out?  _ Would you look at me differently?  _ She wondered. There was a very gentle tap on the balcony door that startled Linda enough to make her jump. She looked up and saw Kara standing outside peering in at her.  


  
She waved to Linda, opened the door soundlessly, and slipped through, nearly getting her cape caught in the door as she did. She looked towards Lena’s bedroom and smiled, a look of relief washing over her face. “I was hoping you two would be here. I-” Her face fell. “Linda, what’s wrong?”   
  
“How many people, Kara? How many people did I hurt? In the hospital, there were so many there… And what’s worse is that they think it was you… I’m so sorry…” She felt tears prick her eyes and she shut her eyes tight, refusing to cry. If she started, if she let that dam break, she would start to sob and that would definitely wake Lena up.   
  
“Linda…”    
  
There was a tug on her arm and she felt herself being pulled along, momentarily surprised that anyone was able to do such a thing until she remembered who was responsible.    
  
“Sit,” Kara instructed, plopping down onto the couch and pulling Linda down with her. “I want you to listen to me very carefully.  _ You  _ didn’t hurt anybody. What happened today, it was all Lex.” She shook her head. “He has a knack for hurting innocent people. Luckily that was all he did today. No serious injuries. Broken bones and some nasty cuts but nothing even close to life-threatening. Something that Lex will probably try and use to get leniency when he has his next trial.” A look of annoyance flitted across Kara’s face and she shook her head. “He’s in the DEO’s custody now, for now at least and he won’t be getting out.”   
  
“I thought he cared about me…” Linda’s voice wavered slightly and she hated how much it still hurt to know that he betrayed her. She despised Alex and yet it still hurt to know that everything she knew had been a lie. “I should have known better… When I met your Alex, she radiated so much warmth. And then I met Lena and…” She trailed off, her cheeks reddening again. “I should have known then.”   
  
“You know now,” Kara said. “That’s all that matters.”    
  
Linda nodded. “Yes, I do know now. Thanks to Lena and you.” Linda’s hands had unclenched and they were now clasped tightly together in her lap. She looked sideways at Kara. “I’m sorry-”   
  
“I already told you that you had nothing to apologize for.”   
  
“Not that… Not today. I misjudged you. Alex told me the most awful things about you… He made me believe you were some kind of monster.”   
  
Kara chuckled and nodded. “That doesn’t surprise me. Lex…  _ Alex,  _ he’s not fond of Kryptonians. I don’t think he would ever say a nice thing about one even with a gun to his head.”    
  
“Maybe if Lena was holding it,” Linda said and smiled shyly.   
  
Kara chuckled and nodded in agreement. “I think you’re right.” She turned to Linda, still smiling. “Do you want to watch a movie while we wait for Lena to wake up?”   
  
“I don’t know…”   
  
“Beats watching the clock.”   
  
Linda jumped a little. She  _ had  _ been watching the clock on the opposite wall out of the corner of her eye but she thought that she had been discrete enough that Kara wouldn’t notice. “What do you want to watch?”   
  
“Have you watched  _ The Wizard of Oz _ ?” Kara asked, already walking over to where Lena kept her movies and taking it down off the shelf.   
  
“No,” Linda said softly.  _ We watched The Great Gatsby,  _ she thought, smiling to herself. “It is your favorite movie, right?”   
  
“It is.” Kara smiled and flopped back down beside Linda. “I can pretty much quote the whole thing by heart, but I won’t. Alex thinks it’s too annoying. So does Nia… And Winn…. And Sam. Pretty much everybody but Lena.”   
  


* * *

  
  
The movie, it turned out, had been just the thing that Linda had needed to keep her mind occupied. She couldn’t help but find herself sympathizing with Dorothy as she found herself having to navigate a world she knew nothing about. It mirrored Linda’s struggle in Kaznia too well. Except she had not happened across a Good Witch she had happened across Alex. Lex…    
  
“The reason why this is my favorite movie,” Kara said, breaking the silence while Dorothy and her ragtag group of misfits made their way down the yellow brick road, “is that I felt a lot like Dorothy when I first came here. I think that a small part of me still does.”   
  
“To National City?” Linda turned to her, looking confused.   
  
“Midvale. Earth,” she clarified. “I-  _ We’re  _ not from here.” She smiled somewhat sadly. “Our home, Krypton, is gone. A story for later… When I landed here, all I wanted to do was go back home, even though there was no home to go back to. I felt like I didn’t belong here. Everything was strange to me and I had to be so careful with myself, my powers… I can’t imagine going through that alone, without the people who adopted me or without Alex. I can’t imagine what you must have felt, waking up with no memories… I just wish I had known..."  
  
"But you have a home here now in the city. Friends and (Lena) a job, a home." Linda shook her head shyly. "I think that I still envy you just a little bit, Kara Danvers," she said with a shy sort of grin on her face. _Maybe a little more than a bit..._  
  
Kara shook her head adamantly. "You already have a friend. You have lots, Linda. Lena and me, and Alex. My Alex," she quickly amended. " I guess _our_ Alex, now. And there's Winn and James, Sam, Nia, and Brainy. I know you'll get along once you meet everybody. And you have to meet everybody. Once you've had some time to rest we can all have dinner together or whatever you want. And as for a home, I-"  
  
There was a small cough from their left and they both turned in unison to see Lena looking at the both of them.  
  
"Don't let me interrupt," Lena said, poking her head out from the bedroom. Some much-needed color had returned to her face and while her hair was mussed, the smile on her face no longer seemed painted on. She held out her arms and was nearly bowled over when Kara flew to her and pulled her into an embrace. 

"I'm so glad you're safe. I knew that something was wrong and when I couldn't find you..." She sniffled and cupped Lena's cheek tenderly, gazing so tenderly into Lena's eyes that Linda had to pretend to be preoccupied with the movie to take her mind off the ache in her chest.  
  
"Thanks to Linda," Lena said and smiled in her direction. "I was worried you might not be here," she admitted. "I had to make sure."  
  
"I promised that I would be..."  
  
"Promise..." Kara's face fell and she quickly pulled her comm from an inside pocket and jammed it back into her ear. "That reminds me, I promised Alex that I would come back to the DEO after you woke up." She looked at the clock and gaped at it. "I really want to stay," she pouted.  
  
"But you have to clean up Lex's mess," Lena said apologetically.  
  
"I'll be back later. If Alex doesn't kill me for being so late and keeping my comm off. Just in case she does..." Kara leaned forward and pulled Lena into a kiss that made her foot kick up off the ground before she floated over to the balcony door, waved to both her and Linda and flew off.  
  
"I should be in charge of cleaning up Lex's mess," Linda said, finally turning her attention from the television and to Lena as she plopped down on the cushion beside her feeling the bottom drop out of her stomach when Lena's leg brushed against hers.  
  
"This isn't the first mess of Lex's that she's cleaned up. He's like a puppy if the puppy was bald and evil and a horrible bastard on top of it. So, not like a puppy at all. But Kara is more than equipped to deal with him." Lena smiled and gestured to the TV. "Did Kara put this on? How do you like it?"  
  
"It's no Gatsby," Linda said as she watched the Wicked Witch of the East melt into nothingness. "But I like it a lot. I can understand Dorothy. She wants to go home and I need to find a home." She smiled sadly. "Somehow I don't think a bunker counts." She meant it to come out as humorous and if it had been any other day than today it probably would have, but even Linda couldn't stop herself from wincing slightly at the idea of returning there ever again.  
  
"Linda," Lena said. "You're obviously staying here tonight. I know that the city probably doesn't feel like much of a home but it didn't for me either, at least right away. We can find you a place and until we do you can stay with me. And no point in trying to turn down the invitation, because there's no way that's happening."  
  
"I do want to stay," Linda admitted. "But-"  
  
"No buts. You want to stay, and I want you to stay, so you're staying."  
  
"You make it sound so simple..."  
  
"Because it is," Lena said. "You stay here, we eat food, I regret eating too much and the cycle repeats itself." Lena shrugged as if she had resigned herself to such a cycle and she was therefore merely trying to make the best of a bad situation.  
  
"That does sound simple," Linda joked. _I just wish that my feelings for you were so simple..._ Linda realized that she was staring and pulled out a folded up piece of paper from her pocket. "I found this at your office..." She unfolded it and showed it to Lena. "I should have trusted you. I wanted to so much..."  
  
Lena took the paper from her, puzzled before she got a better look at it, and smiled. "Are you really not going to let me cross number one off my list, Linda? Also, I just barely started that, I could add about ten more things right now if I had a pen."  
  
Linda grinned, scanned around the room, and seemed to vanish from Lena's side before reappearing there a moment later. "Blue or black?" she asked holding out two pens to her like one might a bouquet of flowers.  
  


* * *

The pain in Lena's wrist came back a few hours later. Not nearly bad enough for her to even think about reaching for the painkillers but just enough to remind her how close she had come to losing everything. She cast an eye towards her bedroom where Linda was curled up and smiled. The day had been trying enough but after tearing through two full to bursting bags of Big Belly Burger, Linda had struggled to keep her eyes open and it had been Lena's turn to be the one to force her to bed, not that it had been difficult. Linda had only put up the tamest of refusals...  
  
_I think that I love you, Lena Luthor.  
  
_Why did that memory choose to return now of all times? Like some massive boomerang that she had thrown so hard that it simply vanished over the horizon and promptly forgotten about only to come crashing into the back of her head when she least suspected it. At the time she had thought it had been Kara and in a small way it had been. That bit of bravery had been the tiny spark that she and Kara had needed to finally stop simply dancing around one another... She had never been happier than she was with Kara but where did that leave Linda? The thought of putting her through any more pain than she had already needed to endure felt like the twist of the knife and she was so lost in that worry she didn't hear her balcony door open.  
  
"Even world-saving geniuses need to sleep."  
  
"And what about their girlfriends?"  
  
Lena felt herself being wrapped up in a hug that was a great deal more gentle than the kind of tight bearhugs that Kara was so fond of giving, likely on account of her wrist, and felt the tiniest nibbling of guilt when she wondered if Linda would be hurt if she caught them in an embrace, already knowing the answer.  
  
"How did everything go?" Lena said, her head resting naturally against Kara's shoulder.  
  
"Lex is still in DEO custody. Definitely a legal grey area but with how he had the whole prison under this thumb, they're kind of stuck holding onto him for now. The damage from the bomb Lex had planted was pretty self-contained. No major injuries and from the sounds of it, the buildings that were hit don't have any structural damage."  
  
"And what about Supergirl's reputation?"  
  
Kara shrugged and looked back towards the city. "Not great... Lots of eyewitnesses and video of Supergirl threatening people running from the blast zone."  
  
"I'm so sorry, Kara. If Lex confesses-"  
  
"Hell might actually freeze over." She smiled and ran a hand gently through Lena's hair. "I have a lifetime to earn National City's trust back and the thing is... I have this _really_ awesome girlfriend that makes it hard to worry about anything because I know that I can do anything if she's around so..."  
  
"I guess she's stuck with you. Poor her." Lena leaned up onto her toes just enough to kiss her. It was shockingly brief, a testament to just how tiring the day had been for the both of them but it still was enough to get Lena's heart fluttering.  
  
"And how's Linda?"  
  
"Holding up. Tomorrow will be a little easier and hopefully, the one after that will be even more so. There's so much that I need to do." She gestured to the coffee table and the notebook that lay open in the center of it. "If Linda feels up to it, I want to bring the both of you into the lab and run a few tests I think I know what Lex was planning to do with the Harun-El and I want to make sure that never happens."  
  
"Of course. I know that Alex wants to have dinner together, maybe we could do that after? Just the four of us, maybe? I don't want to overwhelm her."  
  
"I think she'll really like that." Lena smiled and pointed to the couch. "Did you want to stay here tonight?"  
  
"If you have room on the couch for me."  
  
"I probably won't sleep for a while longer... Won't I keep you up?"  
  
"I don't sleep that much and it wouldn't be the first time you kept me awake. You type really loud when you get tired." Kara raised her hands up and down like she was smashing down piano keys.  
  
"And you snore," Lena countered. "But I still love you."  
  
Evidently, Lena wrote a great deal quieter than she typed because Kara fell asleep curled up on the corner of the couch with her head hanging over the side. She had already filled half of the notebook with equations and formulas while the other was filled with things that she wanted to show Linda. She deserved to see and do so much that it had been a bit daunting trying to find a place to start. Finding her a place to stay in the city would have been a cakewalk but Lena wasn't so sure if she could even ask her to stay. _I feel like I'd be breaking your heart, Linda._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only a few chapters left. I promise that I'll stick the landing. That's what took me so long to update this chapter, had to make sure I have everything right. Thanks as always for reading! Hope everyone is staying safe.
> 
> If you want to say hi or see any prompt ideas brought to life, come stop by and yell at me here inkedroplets.tumblr.com


	20. Everyone Can See It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Linda finally gets a chance to put Lex behind her for good and starts to make plans for her future in National City but finds herself having to confront her feelings for Lena first

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _"I don't wanna be your friend, I wanna kiss your lips (Ooh)  
>  I wanna kiss you until I lose my breath  
> I don't wanna be your friend, I wanna kiss your lips (Ooh)  
> I wanna kiss you until I lose my breath_
> 
> -girl in red [i wanna be your girlfriend](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCwlA7J56XY)

Linda had been trained to be adaptable since Lex had first come to Kaznia. She had believed that she was being trained as a spy. Learning that she had been little more than a weapon that had always been meant to be tossed aside might have weighed heavily on her if not for the people she found herself surrounded by. People that cared for her  _ really  _ cared. It was a wonderful and frightening thing and after all of Lex’s lies, there were moments she found herself doubting their true intentions, looking for the truth in what certainly had to be a lie.    
  
Somehow Lena always seemed to know when she had such thoughts and had a knack for dispelling them before they had a chance to really grab hold. Not that they ever stayed gone and sometimes (usually late at night when she was supposed to be sleeping)Linda worried that such thoughts would never truly go away. But for now, she had far more pressing matters that occupied her attention, like what she was going to have for breakfast.    
  
She held up Lena’s phone and shook her head. “I could go get breakfast and be back faster than a motorcycle.  _ Much  _ faster.”    
  
“You could,” Lena agreed. “But the fun of ordering like this is you don’t have to change out of your pajamas to do it.” She pointed to the phone still clutched in Linda’s hand. “Tell her, Kara.”   
  
“It is fun,” Kara said. “A little less fun when you’re starving but that’s part of the experience although there was that one time I was waiting for potstickers for over two hours, that seemed a bit excessive…” Linda watched her stifle a yawn with the back of her hand and scoot herself into a patch of sunlight that was inching its way across the floor.    
  
“She tells that story all the time,” Lena said in an overly loud whisper. “I don’t think she’ll ever let it go.”   
  
“Two hours!” Kara held a fist over her head and shook it in mock outrage, mouth curved into a goofy grin. “I don’t like holding grudges but even I have my limits.”   
  
“A paragon of virtue unless it comes to food,” Lena whispered, leaning over Linda’s shoulder. “What looks good?”   
  
“The french toast,” Linda said, tapping the screen, trying to ignore the way her relaxed posture had become suddenly more rigid the moment that Lena leaned in close. “That or the pancakes.”   
  
“Get both,” Lena said and began tapping away at her laptop, keeping one eye on Linda. “I don’t think having leftovers is possible with the two of you here.” She grinned and tilted the laptop towards her. “I’m just sending an email to my friend in Metropolis,” she said. “Trying to explain everything that’s happened and not turn it into a novel.” She pointed to the screen and made a face. “Partially successful at least, I think. Pretty good for a woman who has to chicken peck.” She gave her injured arm a little shimmy and grinned.    
  
“Samantha?”    
  
Lena nodded. “Sam, yes. You’ll like her. Ruby too.”   
  
“I’m sure I will.” Linda smiled shyly and snuck a peek at Lena while she tapped the order button to complete their breakfast order. Lena hadn’t needed to show her the email she had been typing but Linda understood why she had. After all of Lex’s lies, trust was something that might have been beyond her if not for how understanding both Lena and Kara had been.    
  
“Done,” Linda said and handed the phone back to Lena.   
  
Lena took the phone, held her index finger up to her lips, and jerked her head towards Kara who appeared to be dozing, her glasses askew on her face. She pointed towards the balcony and stood up quietly, beckoning Linda to follow after her.   
  
Linda did, opting to float instead of getting up off the couch, careful not to bump her head on her way out. “She had another late night?” she asked, once she had shut the balcony door behind them, peeking in at Kara. “My fault.”   
  
“ _ Not  _ your fault,” Lena insisted, her eyes flashing dangerously. “We’ve gone over this.”   
  
“It’s not my fault,” Linda parroted back and sighed. She still found herself struggling with guilt and seeing how prominent the bags under Kara’s eyes were these days. It was hard for Linda  _ not  _ to feel guilty although she wasn’t completely sure that her working with Lex was the only reason… It was how she sometimes caught herself staring at Lena sometimes, how her heart would begin to beat faster whenever she got too close and the way she would find what she hoped was a covert way of making distance and just how much she would have liked not to. 

“That’s better,” Lena said. She stretched, her oversized MIT T-shirt riding up just enough to show a brief glimpse of her pale stomach that made Linda suddenly shift her gaze out at the view of the skyline, her hands resting on the rails of the balcony.    
  
“How bad is it really? Linda asked, still looking out over the city, listening to the sounds drifting up from the street. “No candy-coating it,” she warned. She already knew that Lena would never lie to her but she was under no illusion that Lena had given her the completely unvarnished truth of what had happened either. 

  
Lena smiled and shook her head. “I won’t sugarcoat it.” ” She stepped towards the balcony’s edge, her good hand closing around the railing. “Considering that Lex was involved? It’s really not so bad. It  _ could  _ have been bad,” she admitted. “The people injured in the bombing are getting the best possible care that they can, I’m seeing to that, anonymously, of course. Construction on the buildings damaged in the blast will commence soon and you and Kara are safe… I’d consider that pretty damn good in my book.”   
  
“And Lex? What will happen to him?” Linda found moments (however brief they may be) where she pitied him, almost felt sorry for him before she forced herself to remind herself of all the pain he had caused her and the people she cared about.   
  
Lena’s gaze turned steely and the hand holding onto the railing tightened. “I’d be happy to let the DEO hold onto him indefinitely but that would present complications… You give Lex an opening and he’ll go for the throat. We’ll do things by the book as much as we can with some caveats. Round-the-clock surveillance by a third party that’s been properly vetted will be a start and I’m working on rooting out more of his hidden assets. Make it harder for him to buy his way out of prison.” She turned to Linda, the storm clouds that had blown in around her parting to reveal the warmth underneath that Linda was so accustomed to. “He will  _ never  _ hurt you again, Linda. I promise.”   
  


_ I should be the one promising you that, Lena. If you didn’t already have Kara…  _   
  
The intercom inside the penthouse buzzed followed by a rapid tapping on the glass from inside the penthouse. “Food’s here,” Kara called from inside who had not so much as jumped up as levitated into a semi-standing position still rubbing sleep from her eyes while she tapped on the balcony door. 

“See?” Lena said, stepping across the balcony and holding the door open for her. “And you didn’t even need to change out of your pajamas.”   
  
“They’re your pajamas, Lena,” Linda said.   
  
“You look better in them,” Lena countered, holding the balcony door open for her. “They’re yours now.” 

* * *

“You couldn’t make it a pill?”    
  
“I’m a scientist, not Willy Wonka, Kara.” Lena gave a somewhat halfhearted shrug while she continued to peck away at the computer in her lab, ignoring how the pain in her wrist was once again ramping up. “If I could sneak it into a potsticker I would.”   
  
“Like I wouldn’t know.”   
  
“Who is Willy Wonka?” Linda asked, staring at the syringes on the table apprehensively. “Does he work at L-Corp?”    
  
Lena smiled and shook her head. “A character from a book. They made a movie too that we still need to watch. Maybe tonight…” She trailed off, her focus returning to the computer’s display. Only after going over her work for what had to be the twentieth time did she look up and turn to both Kara and Linda who were sitting side-by-side on the exam table staring at her.   
  
“Just like I suspected, the two of you still have trace amounts of Harun-El in your system.” Lena tapped a key to bring up a holographic chart that showed both Kara and Linda’s vitals. “Barely enough to register on any of the scans and if I wasn’t specifically looking for it, I don’t even know if I would have picked it up.”   
  
“Is that good or bad?” Kara asked, staring at the chart.    
  
“Good,” Lena said, noticing how apprehensive Linda looked about all of this. “The fact that it affects either of you at all is anomalous. The dome on Argo city is powered by Harun-El alongside at least a dozen other systems to keep the city habitable but none of the Kryptonians living there have had a reaction to it like the two of you have or Sam for that matter which means that Earth in some way has played a part in the-”   
  
“Accident?” Linda offered.   
  
“Phenomenon,” Lena corrected, holding her gaze on Linda until she gave Lena a very small almost imperceptible nod. “I originally thought that extracting what trace amounts remained would be the safest option but it appears to be functioning as a kind of inoculation. Given time I have no doubt that your bodies would complete the process on its own and the chances of you ever being exposed to Harun-El between now and then are incredibly low but an ounce of prevention…” She gestured to the syringes. “This will just jump-start the process.”    
  
She raised one of the syringes. “Who’s first?” She waited for either Kara or Linda to raise one of their hands and when no one did she fought the urge to roll her eyes. The two were different in so many ways but there were brief moments where the two were nearly indistinguishable from one another. “Don’t make me pick a number from one to ten,” she warned.   
  
“I’ll go first,” Kara said meekly. “I’m supposed to help Alex with dinner anyway.”    
  
“And here I thought you were being brave,” Lena teased.   
  
“Is the needle made of kryptonite?” Linda asked, still looking somewhat apprehensive even as she rolled up the sleeve of her shirt.    
  
“Not made of exactly,” Kara said. “These actually belong to the DEO. The syringes have been coated in a very small amount of kryptonite so that they can pierce the skin.”   
  
“And done,” Lena said, having taken the opportunity to give Kara the injection while she had been momentarily distracted. “I’m afraid I’m fresh out of stickers, however…” She patted the pockets of her lab coat and frowned.    
  
“I wasn’t that good of a patient anyway,” Kara snarked. She hopped off the table and checked her watch. “I need to go help Alex but I’ll see you two tonight. Seven,” she said. “If you’re late Alex will never let you hear the end of it. She’s really looking forward to seeing you again, Linda.”   
  
“I am too. I want to get to know her better. Your Alex.”   
  
“She’s your Alex too, now,” Kara said and flashed Linda a very warm smile before doing the same to Lena and seeming to vanish from the room as she sped away.    
  
“My Alex too…”    
  
“As far as Alexes go? You can’t get any better than Alex Danvers,” Lena said. “Not so sure about her culinary prowess but I guess we’ll find out tonight.”    
  
“It can’t be any worse than that salad we had the other day,” Linda said, making a face.    
  
“The kale salad I made that you and Kara hardly touched. The kale salad that mysteriously vanished when I suggested we could eat the leftovers the next day?”    
  
“I tried one bite,” Linda countered, looking embarrassed.    
  
“One more than Kara at least,” Lena teased. “Those of us not blessed with Kryptonian metabolism have to be a little more health-conscious,” Lena upended the syringe and tapped at it gently with her finger. “Are you ready?”   
  
Linda nodded and held out her arm. “I am.”   
  
“I’ll be quick.” True to her word, Lena moved as quickly as she could, giving Linda the injection, feeling a tiny bit guilty when she saw how Linda had flinched. She quickly set aside the syringe and offered Linda her hand. “Not so bad, right?”   
  
“No,” Linda admitted, but not pleasant either.”   
  
“No,” Lena agreed. “Not very pleasant but hopefully the last one you’ll ever need.” She checked her watch and was surprised at just how much time they had spent in the lab. “We have a couple of hours to kill before we should head over to Alex’s. Did you want to go for a walk around the city? I can show of the places I like to visit around here."   
  
Linda blushed and she nodded. “I would like that a lot. I want to see more of the city and while we walk you can tell me more about William Wonka.”   
  


* * *

  
Alex thought that cooking with Kara always went a million times better than trying to bake with her. She still snuck tastes now and again but she didn’t need to worry about going to take a batch of cookies out of the oven and going back to the mixing bowl and finding half of it gone while Kara gave her best ‘who me?’ face. She still wasn’t at all surprised to find some of the cheese she had set aside for the lasagna missing.   
  
“Kara…”   
  
“I only had a little bit,” she said, hovering just enough so that she could reach the top shelf of Alex’s cupboards and grab the spare wine glasses she had stored there. “I didn’t have lunch.”   
  
“And would that have stopped you?” she asked, already knowing the answer. “It’s fine,” she said, opening the fridge. “That was decoy cheese.” She waved the bag of grated cheese and tried not to look too smug while she began to assemble the lasagna.    
  
“If you had done that last Christmas our baking day wouldn’t have been nearly as stressful,” Kara said, pointing at Alex with the remaining wine glass before setting it down on the table.    
  
“Maybe this year. And I’m guessing it will be the four of us, this year?”   
  
Kara set the napkin down that she was trying to fold into an overly complicated shape and looked up at Alex. “I guess so… I haven’t really thought about it but, yeah.” She smiled. “Which means you’re going to have to deal with two Kryptonians in the kitchen.”   
  
“And I still have trouble dealing with just the one. But Kara… Are things OK between the three of you? She pursed her lips together not quite sure how to broach that particular subject, especially when Kara had such a stellar way of being completely oblivious when it came to Lena.    
  
“I told you that they were. Lex was the one behind everything-”   
  
“No, Kara, not about that.” She slid the lasagna into the oven, remembering to set the timer before she dusted her hands off on the front of her apron. “I mean…”  _ You certainly aren’t making this easy, Kar.  _ “I mean how Linda told Lena that she loved her when she was still pretending to be you and how she looks at Lena the same way that you do and before you try to deny it remember that I have video proof back at the DEO from when we bugged Lena’s apartment.”    
  
“I’ve noticed…” Kara said and let out a sigh that would have sounded somewhat comical if not for how quickly Kara’s grin had sagged into a frown. “I’m not completely blind.”   
  
If the situation were a little less awkward, Alex would have been more than happy to challenge Kara on that. She had witnessed how Kara had somehow been missing what had been staring her in the face all this time too long for Alex not to be at least a little skeptical. “So you’ve talked about it?”

“I know that Lena’s noticed… She’s not blind either,” Kara said, the look on her face somewhat more combative than Alex was used to seeing. “But I’ve been busy with my Supergirl work trying to fix everything that Lex broke and Lena’s been busy getting things around for Linda… We haven’t really had time to talk about it and I doubt that she’s talked about it with Linda… She’s just now getting settled in after everything with Lex…”   
  
“I get that, Kara, I really do. I just, I wouldn’t wait too long for all of your sakes.” She brushed some hair out of her face.    
  
“I just don’t want anyone to get hurt,” Kara said in a small voice.   
  
“I know you don’t.” Alex smiled and took the dish of grated cheese that Kara had picked at and pushed it across the counter closer to her. “I think that conversation will keep for another day… Tonight, I just really want to get to know Linda better. Nia’s been texting me all day about her. She’s got a whole itinerary planned for when they meet up.”   
  
“They’ll get along great,” Kara said, her smile returning slowly but surely. “You’ll like her too, Alex. She’s sweet and she’s funny. In the two days at Lena’s she’s read nearly every article I’ve ever written.”   
  
“And I haven’t even done that,” Alex teased, her eyes glinting mischievously.   
  
“I work at CatCo in case you’ve forgotten,” Kara shot back. “Should I just fold these in half and call it?” She held up the napkin she had been trying to fold looking at it with something that Alex took for pity on her face.    
  
“What the hell were you trying to make?” Alex asked, tilting her head to see if it would become any clearer by looking at it from a different angle.    
  
“A swan.”   
  
“With a broken neck and broken everything else?”   
  
“Just for that, I’m going to eat all your decoy cheese.”   
  
“Knock yourself out,” Alex said and pointed to the plate of cheese still on the counter. “I don’t think it would be possible for you to actually ruin your appetite. But if you touch the garlic bread I will make it my mission to tell as many embarrassing stories about you as I can before the evening is over.”    
  
“Mutually assured destruction?” Kara said, sprinkling cheese into her mouth.    
  
Alex thought that she might have the upper-hand when it came to embarrassing stories but regardless she wouldn’t walk away unscathed. When it came to storytelling, Kara was far better at it than her although she was quite sure that Lena would find the stories she could tell her far more interesting than any Kara could share with her.    
  
The muted, somewhat defeated sound of her intercom buzzing drew Alex’s attention and she quickly untied her apron quickly going down the mental checklist in her head. Lasagna is in the oven, bread is prepped, house cleaned top to bottom. “Kara, you mangled the napkins into horrifying shapes. I think that’s everything.” She walked to the intercom, jamming her thumb down hard to make sure that it actually worked knowing the idiosyncrasies of her apartment too well to have them even give her pause any longer.    
  
“If it doesn’t buzz you up I’ll come down and get you.” She pressed the button to open the lobby door and was relieved when it actually buzzed them inside.   
  
It’s not technically the first time that they’ve met but even though Linda is the spitting image of her sister, Alex couldn’t help but feel that she was looking back at a complete stranger when she opened the front door. She wasn’t exactly hiding behind Lena although she did appear to be crouching somewhat from how Lena appeared to be the taller of the two.    
  
“Hi again,” Alex said, taking a step back from the door both to welcome her and Lena inside and to hopefully make Linda feel a little less skittish than she looked. “It’s really nice to see you again, Linda. And you, Lena.”   
  
“It’s nice to see you too…” 

“Always the afterthought,” Lena snarked, waving to Kara over Alex’s shoulder.   
  
“Come on in.” She held the door open for them, shutting it behind them once they both stepped inside. “I don’t entertain all that much,” Alex warned both of them. “Hosting game night doesn’t really count which you are definitely invited to Linda if you feel up to it.”    
  
“Only if she’s on our team,” Lena said, shrugging off her belted coat and tossing it onto a chair. “Give her another week or two and I’ll have her caught up to date on pop culture.”    
  
“Lena made me a list.” Linda smiled and patted the pocket of her jeans.    
  
“I’ll need to see it later. I’m sure I can add a few things to it.”    
  
Linda flashed her a very shy thumbs up, finally stepping out from behind Lena. “You are cooking?” she asked Alex.   
  
“ _ Trying  _ to. I’ll let you guys decide if I succeeded or not. I have the Chinese restaurant down the street on speed dial just in case.” She had purposefully    
  
“When Lena cooked there was a lot more smoke,” Linda said.   
  
“Lena cooked?”   
  
“Tried being the operative word.” Lena made a face. “I was trying to practice making dinner for Kara.”   
  
“Her walls were covered in sauce.”   
  
“Fingers crossed that this dinner turns out a little better.” Alex crossed hers winked at Linda who stifled a giggle behind her hand.    
  


* * *

  
  
With how busy the DEO kept her, Alex never did cook all that often. Coming home to an empty apartment at the end of a very long day, the last thing she felt like doing was rummaging around in her fridge and trying to throw together a meal with what little she seemed to have on hand. But something as easy as lasagna was well within her wheelhouse and she was pleased to see that Linda seemed to approve seeing as she had three helpings.    
  
Alex wasn’t sure if it was the food that helped in drawing Linda out of her shell or simply her getting more used to her presence but by the time they opened the bottle of wine that Lena brought along, she was chatting so enthusiastically that Alex was a little surprised just how naturally she seemed to slide into place as if she had always meant to be there in the first place.    
  
“I’ll do the dishes,” Lena said when Alex made to get up. “The least I can do after you cooked.”   
  
“You did bring a bottle of wine older than me,” Alex reminded her.    
  
“You’re really making it tempting to make a joke about your age,” Lena teased, tossing Alex’s fork and knife on top of her plate before whisking it off the table.   
  
“Maybe you should do the dishes,” Alex said, her eyes flashing dangerously.    
  
“I’ll help.” Kara pushed her chair out. “I wash and you dry?” 

“One of your better plans,” Lena said, already walking back towards the kitchen with a wobbly stack of dishes balanced precariously in her grip.    
  
“You want the tour while those two make a mess of my kitchen, Linda? Not that there’s much more to see.”    
  
“Hmm?” Linda whipped her head back towards Alex, looking like she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. “I’d love the tour,” she said, glancing over briefly at Kara’s retreating figure and towards the kitchen before returning her attention to Alex.    
  
_ I know that look…  _ “Follow me,” Alex said, waiting for Linda to walk around the table before leading her down the hall to their right. “Confession time, my apartment usually isn’t this clean. Not that it’s ever really dirty but I don’t vacuum as much as I should and I actually folded laundry today.”    
  
“Because of me?” Linda asked, looking amused.    
  
“It’s tradition to make your house look nicer than it really is when you have people over,” Alex joked. “Family is sometimes the exception but since it’s the first time you’ve ever been over I really thought I should at least fold my laundry.”   


“You consider me family?”   
  
“Of course I do,” Alex said, opening the door to her bedroom. “Not that I mean to sound so presumptuous.    
  
You’re not,” Linda said quickly. “I’m just… Thank you, Alex.”   
  
“You don’t need to thank me, Linda. I’m really happy you came over tonight. This is my bedroom,” she said and made a small ‘ta-da’ gesture with her hands. “Not very exciting.” She walked to her nightstand and held up a book. “I’ve been trying to read this since January.” She tilted it to show that the bookmark was still wedged towards the front of the book. “Slow reader and usually too tired to do anything but sleep when I get home.”   
  
“The DEO keeps you that busy?”    
  
“By choice,” Alex clarified. “I could take some evenings off if I wanted but I don’t really have many reasons to come home early these days and I like my job. Usually.” She had volunteered herself to keep an eye on Lex until they figured out just what to do with him, not wanting to force that particular burden on anyone else at the DEO.   
  
“And down this way,” she said, slipping past Linda, “is the guest room. Not that I have too many guests. Usually, it’s only for people who are too drunk or sleepy to go home after game night but anytime you want to stay, you’re more than welcome to. Which reminds me, I need to give you a key before you leave.”   
  
“You don’t have to-”   
  
“I  _ want  _ to,” Alex insisted. “I take my role as older sister very seriously. Something you’ll just have to get used to, I’m afraid.”    
  
Linda giggled. “I’ll do my best, Alex.”   
  
“Come on, I can show you what DVD’s I have if we head back to the living room. I don’t have as many as Kara or Lena but I might have a few they don’t have. We could always watch-” Alex trailed off when she caught sight of Lena and Kara in the kitchen. She tried to block Linda’s view but when she turned around to distract her with a question or maybe offer to show her the guest room again she knew at once that she had seen.    
  
They were hugging. A far cry from the most scandalous thing that Alex had caught the two of them doing but she wished that they had broken their embrace a moment earlier for Linda’s sake.    
  
Linda blinked and only then seemed to register that Alex was standing there looking at her, looking both hurt and more than a little embarrassed. “I-”   
  
“You know what, I forgot to get us any dessert. I know a bakery just down the street that should still be open. Let’s go pick out something,” Alex suggested, She took Linda by the hand and jerked her head towards the door. “I’m always terrible at making up my mind.”    
  
To Alex it looked like the last thing on Linda’s mind was dessert but she was relieved to see her give a very small nod.  _ That’s a start.  _ She took Linda by the hand and deliberately walked a little louder than normal, intentionally stepping on a floorboard that she knew squeaked and watched out of the corner of her eye as Kara and Lena broke apart so quickly that Lena nearly crashed into the countertop.    
  
“We’re going out to grab some dessert. If you guys want to find a movie for us all to watch while we’re out.” Alex kept her tone light but felt Linda’s hand clench a little tighter around her own, her gaze focused on their feet as they walked as if Linda was afraid she might trip over them. Alex caught Lena’s eye for only a moment but that appeared to be enough judging by how guilty she looked. “We won’t be long.”    
  
The bakery was only a block away and after they had walked for only a minute or so, Alex pointed to a bench that she sometimes sat on when she found herself back home but not ready to  _ be  _ home. “Do you want to sit for a minute?”   
  
Linda shrugged noncommittally before nodding. “Sure…”   
  
Alex very quickly brushed off the bench before sitting down and waited for Linda to settle in next to her before she spoke. “Did Kara or Lena tell you that I’m single?”   
  
Linda shook her head. “No, they didn’t.”   
  
“I am. I have been for a while now.” Alex pursed her lips. “I had a girlfriend… Maggie.”  _ Why is this still so hard? “ _ We broke up because we wanted different things…”   
  
“What different things?”   
  
“I wanted- I want a family. I want to have kids. Maggie didn’t.” Alex let out a breath. I didn’t stop loving her and I don’t think that she stopped loving me and I know that we could have been happy together but something would have been missing.” She held up her hand and pinched her index finger and thumb close together. “Just that little bit, but we both would have always known it was there, I think if that makes any sense.”   
  
“I’m sorry,” Linda said. She hesitated at first but put a hand on Alex’s arm.    
  
“Me too,” Alex said and was able to muster a very small smile. “After we broke up I didn’t take it very well. I guess that’s a little bit of an understatement but I am the one telling the story. There were days that I blamed myself and there were days that I blamed Maggie. It took me a while to realize that it wasn’t anybody’s fault. Just because we didn’t work out didn’t make me love her any less and it didn't make me wrong for lovng her.   
  
Linda smiled wryly. “I think I understand…”   
  
“I know that Maggie and I aren’t the same thing as you and Lena and Kara…”   
  
“You know?” Linda’s eyes widened and to Alex, it looked like someone had just shone a very bright spotlight onto her with the way that she froze in place.    
  
_ I watched Kara look at Lena the same exact way for years…  _ “I figured it out,” she said gently. “And I just want you to know that you can always come to me, anytime you want to talk or if you need a hug or anything else because-"  
  
"Could I have a hug now?" Linda asked, hastily wiping a tear away with the back of her arm.  
  
Before Linda could finish doing so, Alex had already pulled her into a very tight hug.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry so much for the huge break between updates! The last two will be released much, much sooner. Next chapter is the 'final' chapter and then an epilogue of sorts. I'm really sad to say goodbye to these characters already as I finish everything up. Happy ending or everyone's money back.


	21. Snowbird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Fly little bird, don't say goodbye, nothing to be scared of when the wind takes you high  
>  Fly little bird, can you sing my name? Home is where the heart is, can you take me on?  
> Take me on your wings_
> 
> _Took awhile to figure out, what my life is all about  
>  I've been lost in many ways, more than I care to explain  
> Not today, someday you'll ask, I'll say, "A clean slate"  
> Wiping my eyes, I gave you away_
> 
> _Fly little bird, don't say goodbye_
> 
> -Emi Meyer [Wings](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE-G_wcLsjc)

Alex and Linda had been lucky enough to slip into the bakery before the owner had a chance to flip their open sign to 'closed' and after a very truncated walk past the display case, Linda had picked out a chocolate cake that she had paced past twice before pointing it out to Alex. Their walk back to the apartment was a silent one but Alex felt that while they might not have exhausted the subject, they had certainly talked enough about it. Trying to force more of it to the surface was almost never a wise thing unless of course, they had gone out for another bottle or two of wine...

“Hope you two are alright with chocolate cake,” Alex said. She had used her hip to nudge the apartment door open hard enough to bounce back against the doorstop, sidling through holding a cake box tweezed between her fingers. “I’m mostly just talking to Lena, I know that you’ll eat whatever I put down in front of you,” Alex teased making eye contact with Kara, ignoring the dirty look she got in return.

“That sounds wonderful,” Lena said, already opening and closing some of the cupboards before finding the right one and taking out a stack of small plates, doing it while keeping one eye trained on Linda, looking pensive. “Did you pick the cake, Linda?”

“I did,” she said, and although she smiled it flickered on her face like a guttering candle until Alex gave her an affectionate bump on her shoulder as she set the cake down. “There were almost too many choices…”

“ _ That _ is never a bad thing when it comes to desserts. Almost never,” Kara amended. “A reporter’s salary doesn’t stretch as far as you might think.” She gave a sad shake of her head and looked off briefly into the distance, lost in thought.  


“I had to loan her rent money one time because she bought too much pie,” Alex said in a mock whisper, her eyes flashing dangerously as she dug forks out of her utensil drawer.  


“Pie?” Linda looked from Alex to Kara and then back again. “It’s a joke?” she asked, her head tilting to the side as if that might help her clear up the lingering confusion.

“I wish it was a joke,” Alex muttered, her eyes glinting impishly while she pretended not to notice Kara staring daggers at her.

“It was chocolate pecan pie and in my defense, she only had to loan me about fifty dollars and I paid her right back.  _ And,  _ it was really good pie,” Kara said as if that alone was enough to put an end to the conversation. “I just bought a little too much of it.”

“She also didn’t save me a slice,” Alex said in that same stage whisper, delicately untying the string that was wrapped around the cake box.

* * *

_ One Month Later _

The apartment that Lena had both found and bought for Linda was just a stone's throw from Kara's apartment situated in a slightly nicer neighborhood. Lena had tried talking Linda into an apartment in the part of the city much closer to Lena's penthouse and as tempting as that had sounded, she had insisted on a more modest apartment. It seemed that she received nothing but generosity from everyone she found in her life and after spending so much time being manipulated by Lex it was a wonderful feeling knowing that all that kindness came without strings or half-truths.  
  
It was where she had texted Lena to meet her that afternoon and she had been curled up on the couch with a book open in her lap when Lena came knocking a little after eleven o'clock.  
  
"Still looking for some company for your walk?" Lena asked, poking her head into the living room.  


Linda looked up from the book she had open in her lap, closed it with a snap, and smiled. “I am,” Linda said and held up the book she was reading. “This one didn’t grab me as much as the others.”

Lena craned her neck to get a better look at the cover and nodded knowingly.  _ “Ulysses.  _ The fact that it didn’t put you to sleep is impressive enough.” She walked over to where Linda was sitting, took it from her, and weighed it in her hand. “You know you don’t  _ have  _ to finish every book that you start. If Nia recommended that to you as a joke then we’re definitely going to have to find some suitable payback.”

Linda chuckled. “Maybe if you didn’t buy out the entire bookstore when we went shopping…” She pointed to the large stack of books by her bed that had a slight lean to it that might have worried her if not for the fact that she had super speed. “But I want to finish it. It’s  _ interesting _ ,” she said, her nose wrinkling the way it did when she was searching for a way to be as polite as she could without being dishonest.

“I apologize for nothing.” Lena crossed her arms over her chest. “And we made that shop owner’s day.”

“You made my day,” Linda said sweetly.  _ You have a funny way of doing that,  _ she thought, pulling her hair back into a messy bun. Pulling on her jacket, she fiddled with the zipper before stowing the notebook in one of her larger pockets. Lena had begun as a kind of ‘to-do’ list for Linda that had steadily expanded over the weeks until it was nearly full of suggestions. The last page was the only one that had remained blank and Linda had scribbled two last things on it just the night before.

_ I’d be more than happy to leave this for last, Lena… But I’d be too tempted to drag my feet.  _

There was still a light dusting of snow clinging stubbornly to the ground even with the sun out in full force and Linda glanced back briefly as they walked to look at the footprints the two of them had left in their wake.

“You didn’t cancel an important meeting to come over here on your lunch break, did you? Linda asked, looking at Lena sideways, snow crunching underfoot while they veered off down a street that Linda must have walked dozens of times by now.

“I’m the CEO,” Lena said airily. “One of the only perks being that I can cancel whatever meeting I feel like. Really you saved me from what promised to be a very horrible lunch meeting.”

“You saved  _ me _ , Lena,” Linda said. “If it wasn’t for you…” She shook her head, not needing to go any further down that path. She hadn’t ever tried to extrapolate what might have been if Lex had gotten his way but she knew that whatever outcome, whatever end that would have been waiting for her it would have been something horrible. Locked back up in that bunker in Kaznia, dead by Lex’s hands? Those thoughts were ones she did her best to keep locked up, to forget, and for the most part, she had been successful. Lex would likely continue to make irregular appearances in her nightmares for a long time to come but even at her most pessimistic when the night seemed to press uncomfortably around her she never truly believed it to be forever. The night  _ always  _ ended and nightmares never truly lasted. 

“Can we sit?” Linda came to a stop and pointed shyly to a park bench on their left, brushing it free of snow before taking a seat and scooting further down to make enough room for Lena, blushing when she sat down far closer to her than she had expected.

“It’s not too cold for you?” Linda asked, unzipping her coat a bit, more than ready to shuck it off and offer it to Lena if she asked.

“Not too cold,” Lena assured her. “I’m always this pale,” she joked, stuffing her hands deep into the pockets of her coat.

“I’ve made a lot of progress on the to-do list you gave me.” Linda reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out the notebook, flipping through a few pages, fingers tracing over some of the entries. Each one after Lena’s entries were written in Linda’s same tidy script, all of them suggested by one of the people that she now called friends. Movies, music, food, and places. It might have amounted to nothing more than a checklist if not for the fact that she hadn’t been alone while she crossed things off of it. She had watched  _ Die Hard  _ with Alex, toured what Kara had called the ‘quintessential’ restaurants in National City, been coaxed into a karaoke duet with Nia, hiding her face the entire time, and taken a very extensive tour of the city with Lena. They were memories, ones that would remain etched on her heart forever.

“You’ll just need to start a new one,” Lena said, her eyes sparkling, catching the light from the hazy winter sun above. “But you don’t need to humor Kara and write down every single Chinese restaurant she recommends to you. She’s not very discerning when it comes to potstickers. Maybe don’t tell her I said that” she said, tipping Linda a conspiratorial wink.

“My lips are sealed.” Instead of turning an imaginary key in front of her mouth, Linda merely smiled at Lena. “Before I start a new one, I’d like to finish up this one…”

“A completionist,” Lena teased.

“I don’t want to leave things undone.” Linda placed the notebook in her lap and turned her hands palms up. “Leave things left unsaid.”  _ Especially now…  _ “If you don’t mind listening for a bit, Lena…”

“I’m not going anywhere,” she said, one hand snaking out of her jacket pocket and closing delicately around Linda’s right hand.

“No backing out now then," Linda said, more to herself than Lena, giving herself that last necessary push to get going. “I know that you and Kara have been going out of your way to being extra careful around me lately... “ She gave Lena a little shrug hoping to quell any attempt that Lena might make to try and deny it. She felt Lena’s hand close tighter around her own and she was able to summon a faint smile to her face that she hoped would remain for a while longer.

“The more that Kara and I spend time together the more I realize just how different we are. I don’t care that much for karaoke…” Linda found that she could sing but she much preferred watching to performing. Getting lost in the music was something she could only do when dancing.

“Neither do I,” Lena said, raising her hand shyly as if she were fessing up to something she would have rather kept to herself.

“No,” Linda said, her eyes sparkling brightly. “You don’t either. And I prefer chocolate to potstickers.” She patted herself down for a moment before she reached into an inner pocket of her jacket and pulled out a chocolate bar she had stashed there in case of an emergency. “But there are similarities too… We walk the same,” she said and saw Lena grin in spite of how nervous she looked which she took to mean that Lena had noticed as well. “And we like our coffee the same way.”

“With  _ way  _ too much sugar,” Lena said reproachfully, looking up at the sky just as it began to snow.

“Your opinion,” Linda teased, looking skyward, watched as a snow flurry glided through the air as elegantly as a ballroom dancer, dipping and rising before finally floating towards the ground, some of the flakes catching delicately in Lena’s hair. “And we’re both in love with you…” She very gently tugged her hand from Lena’s, clasping her hands together as if in prayer. “I know that nothing can change between us, but I still wanted to tell you, Lena, because I've had more than enough lies in my life already."

“Linda…”

“When I woke up in Kaznia I had nothing. Even after meeting Lex after studying so much, I felt so empty.” She unclasped her hands and put one over her heart, her eyes sparkling with tears. “I was afraid that feeling might never go away because it felt like it had always been a part of me. But when I came to this city I felt drawn to you… I wanted to be with you… Lex knew I think… He used that to trick me… To push me to do things that I knew were wrong…” She brushed a tear away with the palm of her hand before it had a chance to roll down her cheek. 

“As much as I liked being in the city, how I adored being in the light and out of the dark the only thing I truly  _ wanted  _ was you.” She tried to ignore the nervous trill that Lena’s heart made when she said it and pushed onward.

“And if I was lucky enough to meet you first, Lena… I think,” she said in a frighteningly small voice, one just above a whisper, “I think we could have been happy together… After all, Alex says that I am a catch,” she said and smiled when that was enough to coax a watery chuckle from Lena.

“Yes,” Lena agreed at once, quickly wiping a tear away with the back of her hand. “She’s absolutely right about that. You are most definitely a catch, Linda Lee.” She brushed another tear away, blinked those shockingly green eyes, and leaned forward so that her head rested against Linda’s shoulder.

“When I visited you pretending to be Kara, I thought that she was very lucky to have you in her life. I  _ still  _ think that Kara Danvers is very lucky,” Linda said, blushing a bit. “But I am too." Not as lucky as Linda might have liked but lucky all the same. "The movie that Kara is so fond of… The one with the golden road and the bubble witch.”

“ _ The Wizard Of Oz." _

Linda snapped her fingers, thankful for the reminder. “That one. Sometimes at night, I used to worry that if I fell asleep when I woke up that all of this would be a dream. I would wake up back in the bunker and I would be alone again.” A shudder raced through her that had nothing to do with the cold and she felt the sudden feeling of uneasiness that had begun scrambling to put down roots in the pit of her stomach vanish when Lena’s hand closed around her own.

“Linda,” Lena said, lifting her head off of Linda’s shoulder so that their eyes met. “You will never ever be alone again, I promise.”

“I know that now.” She saw how skeptical Lena looked upon hearing this and couldn’t exactly blame her. She dug into the inside pocket of her jacket and pulled out her phone, shielding it as best she could from the snow that was falling more insistently. She navigated to the photos brushing a few flakes from the screen and swiped past a few photos of her and Kara giving one another bunny ears, Kara looking giggly and Linda looking confused but pleased.

“I have lots of reminders.” She swiped through at a brisk pace like she was navigating through a flipbook. There was one of her and Lena at Noonan's, crowded together at one of the smaller tables there. A candid picture of her and Alex bent over a gameboard with nearly identical looks of concentration on their face taken at her first game night. A group shot with everyone bunched in around one another with Linda in the middle with her arm wrapped around Alex and a series of photos with Nia that she had insisted on taking not long after meeting one another for the first time. 

"You know you can call me anytime you want to talk, Linda. Rain or shine, night or day. No exceptions. You're always welcome to fly over anytime too. I'll be happy to put it in writing if you like. I could draw up a contract that would hold up in court if you give me five minutes. You don't have a pen, do you?"

"I  _ always  _ have a pen," Linda said and patted at one of the pockets of her jacket. She had started carrying it to merely keep a tally of everything that she could check off her to-do list but lately, she was using it to scribble down ideas of her own. Short poems and the like. Nothing that she felt comfortable sharing  _ just  _ yet with anyone. The books that she read so voraciously, the ones that she found herself tumbling into so effortlessly like Alice into Wonderland were wonderful but  _ writing  _ was different magic altogether, one that she was keen to keep pursuing earnestly. "But if I can take anyone at their word, it's you, Lena. And now, there are a lot more things that I want Just like I want you and Kara to be happy without having to tiptoe around me and I want some time to fly..."   


“There are two things that I wanted to cross off my list today, Lena. I wanted to finally tell you how I feel about you and I wanted you to be the first to know that I want to do some traveling."

"Linda..." Lena started, her eyes searching Linda's face for any hint of some hidden truth there, eyes darting here and there, not settling anywhere for too long. "What kind of traveling?" she asked after a time.

"I can fly and I have seen so little of the world." She smiled at Lena and watched Lena try to smile back which Linda took to mean that the irony hadn't been completely lost on her. "I want to see more of it now that I know I have a place I can return to. I have a home," she said. Her voice gave a nervous warble and she choked back a small sob that had somehow snuck up on her. "And people that will be waiting for me when I get back."

"Traveling alone..." Lena said and gave an involuntary shake of her head that made it hard to tell exactly which way she was leaning.

"I don't plan to go alone," Linda said. "Alex was the one who suggested the trip. She has a lot of vacation saved up at the DEO and she thought it might be time to finally use some of it." Alex had floated the idea by her over pizza not long after their heart-to-heart on the park bench but Linda hadn't given her an answer until last week when she was sure that it was what she wanted. So far, their itinerary was nothing more than places circled on a map but Linda was sure that could be solved with an evening or two of planning between them. Linda already had a list of places she wanted to travel to, it was all a matter of hammering out the ever-important details before they actually left.

"Kara told me that Alex snores," Lena warned. "Just might be a good idea to pack some earplugs..." She reached up and brushed some snow from Linda's hair before doing the same to her shoulders. Lena gripped her tightly by the shoulders and held her out at arm's length before drawing her into an embrace as the snow around them began to swirl more incessantly turning the world around them white, closing around them like a thick curtain shutting them off from the rest of the world.

"Earplugs... I'll add it to the list."

"And I'm going to want to hear every last detail of your trip so you'll need to take a notebook..."

"A notebook... That too," Linda agreed. "Several if I can spare the room.” She would have gladly packed nothing but clothes and books if that were at all possible but Alex had so gently informed her about weight limits when it came to packing which meant she might only have room for the essentials.    
  
“And the offer still stands. If you ever want to talk…”   
  
“Just text, call, or fly.”   
  
“Got it in one,” Lena said and held onto Linda even tighter. “Just make sure you fly back home when you’re done globetrotting..."  
  
"There's no other place that I'd rather be, Lena."   
  


* * *

“Lena,” Kara said reproachfully. “You’re more stressed than Alex and you’re not even flying.” She poked at her own forehead to show Lena where some worry wrinkles had formed on Lena’s brow. “And you know if you worry that’s going to make me worry.”   
  
Alex gawked at the two of them her ticket and passport clutched in her right hand in what could only be described as a death grip. “I’m worried enough for the two of you,” she said, muttering under her breath as she ran down her list of everything that she had meant to pack, certain that she was forgetting  _ something.  _   
  
“If we forget anything I can always fly back and grab it,” Linda said, patting Alex consolingly on the shoulder, one bag slung over her shoulder. Her hair was tied back in a loose ponytail and was wearing an oversized L-Corp sweater that she normally wore on weekends.    
  
“Alex just forgot how to have a vacation,” Kara teased, taking a small step back to avoid Alex’s attempt to swat her arm.    
  
“Look who’s talking,” Alex said. “ _ Both  _ of you,” she said, looking at both Kara and Lena. “Have you  _ ever  _ taken a vacation, Lena?”   
  
“What’s a vacation?” Lena asked, pretending to look confused, grinning when Linda started to laugh.   
  
“If the city can stay peaceful as it has been, we can all go together next time,” Kara suggested. She pointed to Alex and Linda. “Danvers’ sister vacation?”    
  
And guest?” Lena suggested.    
  
“And guest,” Linda agreed. She too had her passport clutched in her hand, still opened to the page with her photo and name. She moved her thumb just a skosh to the left so she could catch a glimpse of her full name printed beside her picture:  _ Linda Danvers Lee  _ and smiled. 

Alex nodded in agreement. “And if the guest wants to pay,” she teased. “I wouldn’t fight all that hard to dissuade her of that generosity.”    
  
“I thought by now that would be implied.” Lena smiled, glancing up at the departure board and then at her watch. She gave the watch face a tap and pointed to Linda. “If you get into any trouble-”   
  
“I call you,” she said and turned her wrist towards Lena to show the signal watch strapped around her wrist.    
  
“Not that I expect we’ll run into any trouble,” Alex interjected. “Although I really should have listened to that stupid owl and kept up with my Italian lessons.” She reached a hand into her bag and pulled out a pocket-sized phrasebook. “Just as long as I can ask where the bathroom is,” she said flipping through the book, her brow furrowing as her mouth moved soundlessly. 

“Dov’è il gabinetto per favore?” Linda grinned, drawing herself up to her full height. “ _ I  _ listened to the owl.”    
  
“You also have an eidetic memory,” Alex said, stowing the phrasebook back in her bag. “But we should go…" She pointed to the line leading to the first security checkpoint that was already beginning to curve in on itself. She hoisted the bag she was holding higher up on her shoulder and opened her arms in time for Kara to crash into them wrapping her up in a hug that she found impossible to wriggle out from. "I'll only be gone a month. Just enough time for you to get over the fact that Linda and I _destroyed_ you two at game night."  
  
"We'll be taking back our crown in a month so have as much fun as you can in the meantime." Kara finally let go and lifted one of Alex's bags for her, holding it out to her. "And call me after you land."  
  
Linda watched them out of the corner of her eye, smiling. Just a month ago she might have felt like she was intruding on something private but a moment later, Kara had pulled her into a far tighter hug than the one she had given Alex. "We're doing a food tour of all the places you visit when you get back so you have that to look forward to."  
  
"Deal." Linda hugged her tighter, taking the opportunity to admit something she didn't think she could if they were looking at one another. "I think I am already a little homesick," Linda said sheepishly.  
  
"And I already miss you," Kara said as if that made them even, and in a way it did. "Keep an eye on her," she said and nodded in Alex's direction.  
  
"I will. How else will she find the bathroom?" Linda teased.  
  
Kara let one of the arms looped tightly around Linda drop away before taking a step back. "Have fun," she said. "And take lots of pictures, because I'm going to want to look at all of them, even the really blurry ones."  
  
"I will." Linda took a step back just as Kara did the same. There were the very rare moments where the two fell into perfect sync with one another and this appeared to be one of those times because they turned in unison to look at Lena who had just broken apart from the hug she had given Alex. "Keep an eye on her," Linda said.  
  
"I promise I will."  
  
"See you in a month, Kara." Linda smiled and turned away bashfully when Kara took her hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze.  
  
"Expect a party when you get back. A big one. _Obnoxiously_ big." She spread her arms to give Linda a better sense of scale and teetered unsteadily like a house of cards that hadn't decided if it was going to fall over or not before shuffling back a few steps and waving.  
  
"Kara isn't kidding when she says to expect a big party." Lena smiled and grabbed the suitcase at Linda's feet, rolling it closer to her before lifting it, testing the weight. "And with me bankrolling everything... Sky's the limit."  
  
"I would be more than happy with another girls' night." She pointed around at everyone. "And Nia too, of course."  
  
"We can do both," Lena assured her. "I'll make sure that Kara doesn't get her hands on a karaoke machine though," she said and tipped Linda a conspiratorial wink.  
  
"You are always looking out for me, Lena." Linda glanced away for just a moment and found herself wrapped up in a bearhug, Lena's head resting against her shoulder as her heart hammered away at a mile-a-minute. She returned the hug and felt the tiniest pang of longing that Linda planned to leave behind somewhere along the way during her vacation.  
  
"You sure you have everything? Kara can definitely make it back to your place before you have to board," she said, starting to babble. "And I can always fly you myself if-"  
  
"Lena..."  
  
Lena looked up, eyes wide, startled out of thought. "Yes?"  
  
"I have everything I need thanks to you." She glanced from Kara to Alex before returning her gaze to Lena. "Everything."  
  
Lena nodded and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye hastily. "I'm going to text a lot. I hardly ever sleep, so, you'll just have to live with that." Lena's eyes shone brightly and she held Linda tighter before finally letting go. "Go see the world, Linda." Her smile brightened and she pulled Linda back for one more quick hug. "Then be prepared to keep me up all night telling me all about it."  
  
"It would be my honor, Lena."  


* * *

  
  
The rumble of the plane's engines was loud enough to pull Linda out of her reverie. The last time she had been on a plane she had hoped to find something that she had lost, something that she believed had been stolen from her. In a roundabout way she had.  
  
"Nervous?" Alex asked as she patted Linda's hand consolingly. "I used to fly all the time with Kara when we were kids holding onto her for dear life and I still get nervous on a plane right before takeoff."  
  
"A little nervous," Linda admitted, although it had nothing to do with the takeoff. "But a good nervous."  
  
"That's the best kind."  
  
Linda nodded in agreement. "I think so too," she said, watching the tarmac beneath them whipping past faster as the plane sped forward before it slowly pulled up from the ground.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just the epilogue to go and we stan happy endings in this house. For everyone that's stuck with this story this long, thank you. I promise that I'll do my best to make the ending the fluffy monster you all deserve.


End file.
